Mulan: Zutara Version
by sutoribenda
Summary: When a young waterbender pretends to be a male soldier in place of her father will she gain honor for her family or lose it all by falling in love with her firebending captain? Based on Disney's Mulan.
1. An Invasion

**A/N: Hello everyone! Yes, I know, it's been months since I've updated anything and now I'm created a new story! What gives? Well, for anyone who's watching me and waiting for my new chapters of Hogwarts Princess and A Gypsy's Tale, no worries. I am not dropping any of my other fics. In fact, I'm planning on alternating between HP and AGT every Monday, giving me a week between every new update this summer. I may not stick with that plan, but either way, many new updates are to be expected for this summer.**

**But even so, why start a new story so suddenly? Well, to be honest, it's not new at all. I started this last summer and never finished it, due to school starting. (story of my life, I know) I have, however, gone on a recent Zutara bender and I needed to get some of this out of my system. I figured the best way to do that would be to upload some of the stories I have just sitting in my Word doc. The main reason why I haven't done anything with this, however, is fear. Eframtheretardedrabbit writes Disney/Zutara crossovers that I adore and they inspired me to write this. The reason why I haven't uploaded this is because of my constant "My story won't be as good as Efram's" narrative. Hopefully, this is not too similar to Efram's stories. Anyway, I just thought, what the heck, and decided to add this. **

**Another Disney/Zutara I'm working on is for Pocahontas and is not nearly as good or as close to being finished as this one is, so if this gets good feedback, I'll go on to upload that one too. Special thanks go out to Efram here on fanfiction for all the great stories and inspiration as well as KyokoMari on deviantart for the characterizations. I hope you all enjoy. Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan, Avatar, or anything related to that. Trust me, if I did, I would be writing best sellers, not fanfictions. I don't own much at all, really.**

It was a dark night in the Earth Kingdom. A young soldier patrolled the walls of the great city of Ba Sing Se, keeping a lookout for the invading Fire Nation. So far, nothing had ever happened to make him worry. In fact, not even the slightest attempt had been made to breach the city's great wall to get to the Emperor. The young man had begun to wonder why Gyatso had even made these precautions in the first place.

Suddenly, the piercing cry of a hawk shot through the night sky. Something hard hit the back of the soldier's helmet and he turned around wildly. Nothing was there.

Another cry was sounded and he turned around once more to see a messanger hawk of the Fire Nation perched on the edge of the wall.

"Huh?" he wondered, leaning forward to get a better look at the hawk. Was the Fire Nation trying to communitcate? Or was it…

The hawk's cry pierced the night one final time and in response, dozens of grapling hooks shot upward and latched onto the wall of Ba Sing Se. An invasion. The soldier quickly ran as fast as he could to the signal tower in the hope of sounding the alarm.

Just as quickly as the hooks had appeared, one Fire Nation warrior for every hook on the wall was climbing up, reaching toward him. He ran blindly, not even noticing when two huge men burst through a door, doing what they could to stop him.

The soldier climbed up the ladder to the signal tower, running for his life. The two warriors below him had cut apart his ladder, trapping him high in the turret. Reaching for the horn to alert everyone of invaders, a bright light flashed before his eyes.

Standing before him, tall and menacing, was the great and powerful Ozai of the Fire Nation. He loomed down on the soldier, ready to strike when the sound of a horn reached their ears.

Ozai's burst of flames had alerted the other patrollers to the danger of Fire Nation invaders. Hundreds of horns began to blast, sounding all across the wall. The entire Earth Kingdom would be awakened and alerted. Soon, hundreds of Earth Kingdom soldiers would be rushing to the wall, warding off the rouge Fire Nation warriors.

"Now the entire Earth Kingdom knows you're here," the soldier said loudly.

Ozai smirked, not shaken in the least by the young man's spout of bravery.

"Perfect."

Within the palace of Ba Sing Se, Emperor Gyatso was being informed of the actions of Ozai and his rouge Fire Nation army.

"Emperor," said the head general Iroh, bowing before Gyatso. "My troops are fighting against Ozai as we speak. They have sent him retreating from Ba Sing Se, but not the Earth Kingdom. Ozai is sure to go back to the woods where the whole of his armies are hiding. With your permission, I will send my troops from the camp to fight his armies."

"No," said the older man, shaking his head. "Your troops will not be enough for Ozai. We will need a combination of the countries, a cooperation of the elements, to defeat the rouge Fire Nation. Fire against fire alone will not be enough."

"Then what do you suggest, Gyatso?" the second in command to the Emperor questioned.

"We will need the strongest man from every family in the Kingdom to stop Ozai," he said.

"But Gyatso," the general cut in. "There is no time. New recruits will not be well trained enough to fight Ozai's armies. Our only chance is my army."

Gyatso shook his head and dismissed the general's concerns. "Kyoshi warriors should be sent to the outer lying villages to protect my people. Then I want Zhao to send for the new men and for you and your commanders to train our new troops," he said to Iroh. "I will take no chances for my people to be unprotected. One man could be the difference between victory and defeat."

**A/N: So? How was it? **

**Just a a notice for anyone who has read my other stuff, these chapters will be significantly shorter than my other stories, due to the fact that Disney movies are, well, very short. There's just not as much to work with, so anyone hoping for long chapters will be disappointed. My next chapters, however, should be much longer than this one. They'll still be short, just not this short. For an intro, this is as good as it gets. Deal with it. **

**Hope you all enjoyed. Loves, Tori**


	2. Honor To Us All

**A/N: Okay, so that last chapter was, admittedly, pretty bad. I wrote it last second, originally intending for it to be a short paragraph about Ozai invading Gyatso's kingdom instead of a whole scene from the movie. This, however, is much better. We're getting to the real story! **

Within a small Water Tribe village in the Earth Kingdom, a young and beautiful girl stood in her gardens. She was perched at the edge of a small pond. Moving gracefully, the young woman spun in a circle. The water in the pond came up in waves and spun with her. She danced and kicked, the water's movement mimicking her own. Suddenly, the girl threw her hand upward, sending long jets and streams of water into the sky. She giggled and twirled, throwing a water whip outward at the nearest tree.

"Yes!" the girl shouted, pumping her fist and beaming broadly.

"Katara!" a voice called off in the distance. "Katara, where are you?"

"Father!" Katara called, gathering her skirts and rushing towards him. Katara's father, Hakoda, was tall and impressive looking even as he limped over to his daughter. He was injured from wars far off in the Water Tribes and walked with a cane because of it. But Hakoda's physical injury didn't take away from his intimidating demeanor.

"Katara, what have you been doing?" he asked, eyeing his daughter up and down. Hakoda noted the slight sweat on her brow and the water clinging to the bottom of Katara's skirt and sleeves.

"Just, brushing up on a few things dad," Katara said, cringing slightly. Her father seemed to notice everything. Katara knew that she would really be in trouble this time.

"Katara," her father said softly, rubbing his temples. "Please, don't tell me that you were waterbending again."

Katara grinned sheepishly. "Father, you know that I have to practice if I ever want to- ."

"You are to become a healer and nothing else," he said, cutting Katara off abruptly with his harsh tone. "A healer, and later a wife to an honorable man." Hakoda's voice was angry but his face was soft with something that Katara guessed was pity. She couldn't be sure. "Katara, you know that women are not allowed to learn to fight."

"But Suki- ." Katara began protesting, but was cut off again.

"Suki and the Kyoshi warriors were sent here by the Emperor to protect our village. They were trained by the male soldiers and have never fought in the wars. Their only job is to protect." Hakoda then grimaced further. "Don't tell me that Suki has showed you more."

"Suki's my friend, dad," Katara said. And then she pulled a folded paper fan out of her sleeve. "She says that there's no reason to keep me from fighting. And look, she taught me this."

Katara leapt forward with the fan, throwing it at a nearby tree. The fan hit the trunk, but then crumpled and fell to the ground. Katara blushed a little. "Well, it works better if you have the warriors' golden fans."

Hakoda limped forward and picked the fan off the ground. He pocketed it into his own robes and turned to his daughter. "Katara, you are not to learn how to fight, do you hear me?"

Katara gazed at the ground, away from her father, but nodded. "Yes father."

He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now hurry into town. Your grandmother is at the store waiting for you. You need to look your best in order to impress Aunt Wu."

Katara jerked her head up and gaped. "That was today? Oh no." She ran off to the stables, leaping on her flying bison Appa, and leaving her father in the dust.

Hakoda shook his head and sighed, walking away. "Maybe I should go and pray to the spirits."

Meanwhile, Kana stood outside of the family store, pacing. Her young assistant, Meng, watched her with a worried look on her face.

"Do you think Katara will turn up?" she asked.

Kana stopped her pacing and nodded. "Of course she will. Katara's a smart girl. She knows that today's not the day to be late." Then the old woman smiled. "And besides, we've got all the luck we'll ever need Meng." She gestured to a small flying lemur bat sat on top of her shoulder. He had been put on a leash and was visibly trying to escape, but Kana kept him close. "This little lemur will be the secret to our success."

The young girl frowned. "What do you mean?"

Kana smiled broadly. "Just watch." She then covered her eyes with her hand and crossed the busy town street. Carts of all kinds being pulled by creatures from all across the Earth Kingdom were speeding by, many of them just narrowly missing Kana as she blindly walked forward. Meng stood behind and watched in horror.

"Kana, no!" she shouted.

But it was too late. A cabbage merchant was already speeding toward her. At the last second, he saw the old woman and swerved. Screaming, the cabbage man and his cart toppled over, narrowly missing Kana. At the other side of the street, Kana stopped and turned to Meng, waving and grinning. "This lemur's a lucky one!" she yelled.

The small girl smiled and shook her head. She walked back towards the store and Kana soon joined her. "My cabbages!" the merchant yelled, lying on the ground and lamenting the fate of his beloved produce.

"Oh, get over it!" Kana shouted at him, turning her attention back to the other side of the street. Katara came zooming in through the sky on Appa's back. She hopped off and smiled, her hair and clothes in complete disarray.

"I'm here!" she said proudly. "I made it Gran-Gran."

Kana frowned at her. "Well, thank the spirits you have me to help you, child. Come on. Inside. We have to get you cleaned up."

Katara frowned and followed her grandmother into the store. Meng stood there with the other women of town, all frowning at her.

"What?" Katara asked, irritated. Everyone in town always looked down upon the young waterbender for wanting to fight. This had always puzzled Katara. What was so wrong about wanting to do something more with your life than catering to a man's needs?

Meng stood at the front of the group of women, scowling. She turned to Kana. "_This is what you give me to work with?_" she shouted. Meng dragged Katara along, pulling her clothes off on the way, and pushed her into a tub of water.

Katara burst out of the water and shivered. It was freezing! "_Well honey, I've seen worse_," Meng commented to the women, who all nodded eagerly. "_We're gonna turn this sow's ear into a silk purse_."

The women got started right away, washing Katara's long and curly brown hair. Many of the Water Tribe women helping her to prepare to see Aunt Wu were gushing and giggling over Katara and her future.

_We'll have you washed and dried _

_Primped and polished till you glow with pride_

_Trust my recipe for instant bride_

_You'll bring honor to us all_

Katara scowled, she had no desire whatsoever to become a bride. The water around her in the tub, however, brought more joy to her in that moment then any man ever would. She smiled and began playing with the water, making it dance to her whim.

"Katara, what are you doing?" Gran-Gran asked her, scowling.

She blushed and dropped her hands, sending the water splashing on Meng. "Um, I was just…"

"You know that you are only allowed to waterbend for healing purposes," she said, her hands on her hips. Then she sighed. "At least I have plenty of luck for you when Aunt Wu sees you."

As Kana said this, Katara yelped as she noticed a small lemur chatter and try to fly around her head. Ignoring her, the women pulled Katara out of the tub and threw a robe on her. They quickly did her hair in an elaborate braid with blue beads and ribbons laced in it to match her eyes.

_Wait and see_

_When we're through_

_Boys will gladly go to war for you_

_With good fortune and a great hairdo _

_You'll bring honor to us all_

They giggled and showed Katara her reflection in the mirror. Katara frowned and stared at her own face. She didn't look like herself. Then it hit her. Quickly, Katara took a long strand of hair from either side of her head and created loopies. They framed her face and tucked neatly into the blue beads she now wore. Katara smiled and put the mirror down, following Kana and Meng to the salon where she could get makeup.

Passing many other women who were already done up and ready to see Aunt Wu, Katara could feel herself becoming nervous and uneasy. These women were upstanding and already had bright futures ahead of them. What more could Aunt Wu tell them? But Katara's future was sure to be filled with trouble.

_A girl can bring her family _

_Great honor in one way_

_By striking a good match_

_And this could be the day_

Suddenly, Katara spotted two men at a Pai Sho board. She smiled. Her grandfather, Pakku, had taught her to play Pai Sho along with many other things. Pakku was a master waterbender and was off in the wars, training young men to waterbend rather than fighting himself.

Her thoughts of Pakku were taken from Katara when one of the men made a move and grinned, thinking he had won. The other stared at the board, hopeless. Katara walked up and spotted the piece she was looking for. Without either of the men noticing, she expertly moved the White Lotus piece to its proper place on the game board. The man looked over at her in disbelief, realizing he had won, and cheered joyously.

Meng stalked back and dragged Katara along. Inside the shop, many of the Kyoshi warriors were putting on their white war makeup. One of them spotted Katara and walked over, grinning.

"Katara," she said, happily acknowledging the waterbender.

"Suki!" she shouted. Katara rushed over and hugged the girl tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Suki asked. "I thought you said yesterday you would rather die in the wars than be the slave of a man for the rest of your life." Suki made a slight attempt at copying Katara's voice. The two girls laughed.

"My family wants me to see Aunt Wu and have my fortune read," Katara explained. She tried to look pleased with this, but her grimace told Suki otherwise. "I want my father to know that there is truly honor in my future. Then maybe he would let me train with you."

"That would be wonderful." The warrior grinned at her friend and followed Meng and the woman into the dressing room.

"Wow," the girls said together. An incredibly gorgeous light blue dress lay on the chair. It had a white trim and long, elegant sleeves.

"Is that for me?" Katara asked her grandmother.

"Sure is," Gran-Gran replied. "Now let's get you in it."

Women all around worked to get Katara into her dress and ready for Aunt Wu. They

_Men want girls with good taste_

_Calm, obedient, who work fast paced_

_With good breeding_

_And a tiny waist_

_You'll bring honor to us all_

The women kept babbling about husbands and children and all of the honor that was in store for Katara's future.

_We all must serve our Emperor _

_Who guards our Nation's funds_

_A man by bearing arms_

_A girl by bearing sons_

They then began to fuss over her face and covered it in makeup.

_When we're through you can't fail_

_Like a lotus blossom soft and pale_

_How could any fellow say "no sale"_

_You'll bring honor to us all_

Katara, seeing her strange reflection, made a face and turned away. Suki laughed and pulled her to the front room.

Gran-Gran stood there, smiling. "I have some good luck presents for you darling," she said. She held out a small pin with Yin and Yang on it. "This is for balance. You must always remember that balance is the key to the world. No matter how different someone is from you, you must show them that you are worth more than they think."

Katara took the pin and placed it inside her dress. "Thank you Gran-Gran."

Suki then came forward and hugged Katara tightly once more. "Whatever happens, you are strong Katara," she whispered in the waterbender's ear. When her friend pulled back, tears began to well up in Katara's bright blue eyes.

"Thank you Suki. That means so much, coming from you."

Suki smiled a mischievous grin. "Then this should really mean a lot." The warrior reached into her sleeve and pulled out a golden fan. It was one of the fans that the girls of Kyoshi fought with that Katara had admired for so long. "Here," she handed it proudly to her friend.

"Oh Suki," Katara cried, taking the fan and holding back her tears. This was what she had always wanted, to become a real warrior. Even though this small gift from Suki was as close as she could get, it meant a lot.

"Katara," Kana said, turning her attention back to her. "I have a final gift to give you," she said solemnly, her happy look from before having turned into one of wistful longing. "I've been holding on to it for many years and it's time that I give it to you. Your mother would have wanted me to."

Katara watched in awe as her grandmother reached around her own neck, and took off the necklace that she always wore. "Your grandfather carved this for me and, when she was of age for marrying, I gave it to your mother. Now it's time you have it." She handed over the necklace and smiled, showing off her laugh lines. But the look in her eyes had sorrow.

Katara just stared at the blue necklace in her hands. She remembered her mother wearing it and telling stories about how Pakku gave it to Kana. Katara had always admired it and wanted one just like it.

The carving on the sky blue stone was that of the Water Tribe. And it was gorgeous. Real tears did start to fall down Katara's face as she put her mother's necklace on. She hadn't felt this close to her late mother since Ozai and his rouge Fire Nation warriors had killed her.

"Oh, Katara," Suki said, giving her friend a watery smile. "Don't mess up your makeup. You need to look your best."

Katara smiled and gently wiped away her tears. "Thank you so much, both of you," she said, sniffling.

"Oh," Kana burst out. "I almost forgot. Momo!"

"Momo?" both Katara and Suki asked, confused. The little lemur flew from Kana's shoulder to Katara's. He sat there and purred contentedly, making himself at home. The girls all laughed.

"This is Momo, your lucky lemur," Kana smiled. "Now come on, we have to hurry."

The girls all rushed out of the store and down the dirt roads of town toward Aunt Wu's house. Katara fell back a little, watching her grandmother and her best friend rush along in front of her. She sighed and looked to the sky overhead. "_Spirits strong, hear my plea. Help me no to make a fool of me and to not uproot my family tree. Keep my father standing tall._" Katara smiled at the blue sky. She had the feeling that someone out there had to hear her. And soon, she would know her future.

"Katara!" Meng ran past and grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

_Scarier than the undertaker_

_We are meeting the fortune teller_

They ran to the steps of Aunt Wu's house where many heavily made up girls stood and gossiped among themselves. Suki and Kana stopped abruptly and Meng helped them shove Katara forward. The young woman looked around nervously, feeling out of place.

_Destiny, guard our girls_

_And our future as it fast unfurls_

_Please look kindly on these cultured pearls_

_Each a perfect porcelain doll_

Everyone around her chattered. The only words that reached Katara's ears sounded like a chant. "Honor, honor, honor."

_Please bring honor to us_

_Please bring honor to us_

_Please bring honor to us_

_Please bring honor to us_

_Please bring honor to us all_

Suddenly, the front doors burst open and everyone became quiet instantly.

**Yay! The plot thickens! The next chapter should also be very short, more like the first chapter, but it'll move along very fast. I hope you all enjoy. **

**Please review! ;D**


	3. Fortune Telling Disaster

**A/N: Another very short filler chapter. Thankfully, this should be the last one. After this, almost all of the chapters should be longer, better, more exciting, and a few will even be filled with action. Plus, our wonderful Zuko will be showing up in just a few chapters after this. So hold tight everyone, it's just getting started. Also, I would really like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. It really means a lot to me and getting three reviews in less than 24 hours after uploading a new story is incredible. The overwhelming response to this just keeps growing and I can't thank you all enough.**

**And to all of you lurkers out there, yes, I know you've read it, I really just wanted to ask you for some reviews. I would never hold a story or stop writing because of the amount of reviews I'm getting, but they really do encourage me to write more and keep going with it. I know that about 100 people read my first two chapters yesterday, so why not review? It only takes a few seconds and I reply to every single one. Even if you didn't like what I've written so far, just please tell me so that I can improve. So thank you in advance for reviewing my stories.**

**Disclaimer: I really don't see why I need to do this. I don't even own a car, let alone Disney, Avatar, or anything related to that. Gosh...**

**Anyways, enjoy and review! **

An intimidating woman stood on the steps leading to the fortune teller's house. She had a dark sort of look in her eyes as she surveyed everyone in the crowd. "Mistress Katara will be first," she said, her dark eyes almost menacing.

"Great," Katara groaned, louder than she intended. The sound would not be missed by the fortune teller.

"Talking out of term?" Aunt Wu asked, looking her over with disgust. "Hm, there won't be much in your future, acting that way. Come along."

Katara wrinkled her forehead and looked back at her family. Meng scowled, but Kana and Suki gave her a hopeful look. She smiled and took Momo off of her shoulder. "Stay here little guy, okay?" she told him. His green eyes looked at her and he chattered. Katara took that as a yes and rushed inside, oblivious to the small lemur bat following her.

"Sit," Aunt Wu said, pulling up a cushion for herself. Katara did as she was told and sat on the cushion at the opposite end of Aunt Wu's table. "Now pick a bone," she said, motioning to the silver bowl filled with pale white bones.

Katara grimaced, but did so, picking up the first one she could. She quickly gave it to Aunt Wu. The fortuneteller tossed it into the small fire and the bone began to crack. Katara watched all of this quietly, until she noticed with horror that Momo was climbing a shelf behind Aunt Wu, desperately trying to get at her peaches.

"Um…" Katara started, trying to alert the old woman.

"Hush child," she said, still staring intently at the bone in the fire. "There is some honor in your future after all."

"What?" the waterbender asked, turning her attention away from the lemur and back to the fortuneteller.

Aunt Wu's face was no longer filled with disapproval, but instead her dark eyes glinted with pride. "Yes, great honor and romance!" Aunt Wu went on excitedly. "You will meet a man soon."

"Oh," Katara sighed. She hadn't been hoping for that. However, Katara smiled in spite of herself. As much as she wanted to be independent for the rest of her life, her family would be elated. Hakoda would be so proud.

"But wait- ." Aunt Wu said in horror, taking the young Water Tribe woman out of her reverie. "There is great trouble in your path. Trouble…and fire!" The fire on the table whooshed upward and Katara jumped back. The bones in the fire was crackling and making popping noises, but a small chatter alerted Katara to a more present danger.

"Ahh!" Aunt Wu cried suddenly. Momo had gotten his peach and flown off the tall shelf, straight at the woman's head. She tossed her head around and screamed, trying desperately to get the creature off.

"No, wait, it's okay!" Katara tried to tell her. "He won't hurt you." She lunged forward and helped her to get Momo off.

The terrified lemur bat shot out of the open window, leaving Aunt Wu and Katara alone. "Well then," the old woman began. "I suppose we- ."

"Oh no!" Katara cried, seeing that the fortuneteller's dress had caught on fire in the commotion. She searched around for water to put it out with and Aunt Wu screamed.

"Help! Help me! Ahh!"

Then Katara remembered the barrel of water that sat outside. She ran out of the room and the frantic old woman followed her, still screaming.

"You!" Aunt Wu shouted as Katara made an arch with the water from the barrel and shot it at her. The fire was doused out, but the fortuneteller was soaked in the process.

She scowled and marched over to where Katara stood. The young waterbender cowered as her family looked on his horror at the scene. "You are a disgrace! You will never bring honor to your family!"

**So how was that? It's very short, I know, but that's all going to change very soon! I tried being funny here, but I have no skill at comedy of any sort. Next up, Katara considers her "Reflection" and her future might be changing for the better!**

**Don't forget to review! ;D**


	4. Reflection

**A/N: Okay, so maybe I lied a little. It is beginning to seem that all of the chapters for this story will be, for the most part, very short. I wish that I could make them longer and more similar to the chapters I've written for other stories, but so far, it just seems like that's going to be impossible. For the time being, these chapters will be short, but hopefully, still pretty good. I'm so happy for the response this is getting and I hope that it keeps getting better. I may have a few more updates in store for you today alone. I'm really on a roll and if I stop updating for a few days, I may never start up again, so I hope no one minds the rapid rate that I'm uploading new chapters.**

**Don't forget to review! **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. Seriously, stop asking.**

Katara walked Appa back into the stable, looking around sadly. Hakoda came out of the house and smiled at her warmly. She just looked away and kept walking until she came to a cherry tree that sat in her vast backyard. She sat down on the bench beneath it and wiped off her makeup, crying to herself.

_Look at me_

_I will never pass for a perfect bride_

_Or a perfect daughter_

_Can it be I'm not meant to play this part?_

_Now I see _

_That if I were truly to be myself_

_I would break my family's heart_

Reaching up to untie the leash of the small creature on her shoulder, Katara let Momo free. He flew away, chirping happily. She watched him fly high into the air and disappear from sight.

Katara left her spot under the cherry tree and walked over to the pond where she practiced her waterbending. Katara danced and spun and screamed out all of her frustration and anger. Why was she so different? Why couldn't she just fit in with everyone else? Every other waterbending girl was to be a healer. From birth they were conditioned for it. You will heal soldiers, be a housewife, and bear many sons. No girl is to ever fight for herself.

She knelt to the ground and looked into the pond. Her face was still heavily made up and unfamiliar to her. Katara could barely even recognize herself. What had she turned into?

_Who is that girl I see_

_Staring straight back at me_

_Why is my reflection someone _

_I don't know?_

She sighed and let her hair fall down out of its braid, only keeping in her loopies. The brown curls cascaded softly to her waist. Katara got up off the ground and went back to the bench under her cherry tree. She would never measure up to the honor that her family wanted her to. Katara didn't even know if she could measure up to what she wanted for herself.

_Somehow I cannot hide_

_Who I am_

_Though I've tried_

_When will my reflection show _

_Who I am inside?_

Hakoda limped out to the tree and sat down next to her, still giving his daughter that warm smile.

"What wrong Katara?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She wiped her tears away quickly. "Just look at me father. What man would ever want me as a bride? A simple waterbending girl that just wants to help her country."

"Now Katara- ." Hakoda tried to comfort her.

"I've tried dad!" she cut in, shouting. "I really tried to be normal and proper like you want, but I just can't. I know that if I was myself, you would be disgraced. It's just that I don't even feel like myself anymore."

Katara felt the necklace that sat on her neck, fitting perfectly into the curves of her collarbone. She took it off and placed it on her lap. She felt like her mother wouldn't even be proud of her.

Hakoda looked sadly at his daughter and tried to make her happy. "There are over a thousand blossoms on this cherry tree," he said. "But that one just won't bloom." He pointed to a dainty little pink flower that stayed closed while all of the others were open and flowering. Katara glanced up at the bud and smiled slightly, realizing what her father was saying.

"But when it blooms," he continued, taking his wife's necklace from Katara's hands and putting it back around her neck. "It will be the most beautiful of all."

Katara smiled and hugged her father. The tears that fell down her face now were happy ones. Her father was proud of her! And she never wanted him to let her go.

Suddenly, the loudest of drums began to beat far off in the distance. What sounded like a Tsungi horn was being blown and commotion erupted outside of their garden's tall fence. The father and daughter broke apart, looking around in confusion. Meng ran out towards them, waving her arms and panting.

"Mister Hakoda!" she shouted. "There are soldiers here!"

Both Katara and Hakoda leapt to their feet and followed Meng to the front gate. Three men on ostrich horses were surrounded by the large crowd. One of the men sat holding a scroll with Emperor Gyatso's crest on it. He looked out over the crowd.

"I am Zhao, right hand to the Emperor," he said. "I have come to gather troops for our war effort. Every one of these men must serve in his majesty's army." The man called Zhao opened his scroll and read.

"Hahn!" he shouted.

Katara watched in horror as her neighbor Hahn went forward and took his own scroll, informing him on the war. Katara's friend Yue was engaged to marry Hahn. She would be heartbroken.

"Bato!" Zhao yelled. Bato was the best friend of Katara's father. He couldn't go into the war.

Bato began to step forward when another man took his place. He was younger and stronger looking. Katara recognized him as Lee, Bato's nephew. He bravely turned to Zhao and the soldiers.

"I will take my uncle's place and fight in the wars," he said. Everyone in the square looked shocked at the announcement, but Zhao didn't seem to mind. He handed a scroll to Lee and continued reading.

"Hakoda!"

Her father began to limp forward and took the scroll from the soldiers. "No!" she shouted, quickly rushing over to a puddle and throwing a water whip towards Zhao and the soldiers. She rushed forward. "My father has already fought in the wars. He was at the siege of the South Pole. He cannot fight!" she shouted.

Everyone was looking at her and Zhao scowled. With a flick of his hand, he sent a fireball at her and Katara fell to the ground.

"You should teach your waterbender here some respect," he said to Hakoda. Both of them glared. "She will never get a husband, no matter how pretty she may be."

Zhao looked over at Katara who hurriedly got off the ground and whipped the dust off her dress. The look in his eye was lustful and she made a face. "Why you disgusting- ." She began, stomping toward him, but her father held her back.

"Katara," he said, looking at the ground in shame. "You dishonor me."

She gaped at him and then the soldiers. Zhao was still staring at her with interest. Katara's blue eyes met her fathers' and she ran back into the house, crying.

**I hope you all enjoyed. Another chapter may be uploaded today, we'll see. Hopefully the next chapter will clear up any confusion as to why there are still airbenders around and why there are only some firebenders who are bad guys that can't be trusted. I know I made that a little confusing in these first few chapters, but it should all be cleared up very soon.**

**Read, review, and enjoy! Loves, Tori ;D**


	5. Katara's Decision

**A/N: This should be my last upload for the day. It's still a bit short, but I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to review.**

At dinner that night, everything in Hakoda's house was tense. Katara angrily stared at the tea before her, the power in her gaze almost making the cup tip over. "I still don't see why you have to go father," she said, her jaw tight and her eyes never moving away from her cup of tea.

"I must serve this country and keep it safe from Ozai's firebenders," Hakoda replied calmed. He didn't look at his daughter either. Instead, Hakoda simply continued to eat his stew slowly and carry on his conversation with Kana.

"As I was saying Kana," he went on. "The Emperor has done well to serve the Earth Kingdom and unify the Nations. Everyone was cooperating and the head of each nation had agreed to go along with Emperor Gyatso's plans."

"Father, if you can go serve in the wars then why can't I?" Katara burst angrily, her cup of tea having finally fallen over from the inadvertent waterbending she had been performing on it.

Hakoda was choosing to ignore her. "Creating one large Earth Kingdom with every element and nation living and working together in harmony is what every Emperor in the past has been striving for," he continued to tell Kana. But Kana was no longer listening to Hakoda's views on politics. She was staring at her furious granddaughter instead.

The man went on, however, not one to be swayed. "But of course, Gyatso should have seen that Ozai would resist. Being Firelord was everything to Ozai. With a fully unified kingdom, Ozai would have no power remaining at all. Thankfully, there are still many firebenders on our side. Even Ozai's brother, the great General Iroh, would not fight against the Emperor."

Hakoda's enraged daughter rose to her feet in a rush and began to yell. "Father you cannot do this!" Katara shouted, cutting off his monologue and glaring daggers at Hakoda. "If you go to war and fight the firebenders, you will die."

The man nodded solemnly and sighed. "I may die," he said quietly. "But if I do, it will be with honor, fighting alongside other soldiers to unify this nation and defeat Ozai. If you cannot understand that- ."

"I do understand it father!" Katara scream. Tears had begun to well up in her bright blue eyes. "But you are injured and much older than the other men. Let me fight in your place."

"I know my place!" he yelled back at her. "And it is fighting for this country and for honor. It is time you learned yours."

In a rush of emotions that Katara had never felt before in her life, she ran outside into the pouring rain and sat in the shadow of a large statue of a Sea Serpent. When she saw the light in her kitchen go out and the light in her father's room begin to glow, she knew that it was safe to enter the house again. Feeling more tired than she had realized, Katara went back into the house as quickly and quietly as she could. But on the way to her room, she heard voices coming from her father's quarters.

"Hakoda, I really don't think you should go."

Katara stopped in the hallway as she heard her grandmother's voice in her ear. She peaked through the doorway and saw her father and Gran-Gran standing there, arguing.

"Kana, I must. I have to help my country." Hakoda's voice was strong and sure, but he looked uneasy. Katara gasped when she saw his old sword and armor laid out on his bed.

"You could die!" Kana shouted at him. "What would that do to our family? How can you just leave your own daughter?"

Hakoda bore down on her angrily. "I don't want to!" he shouted. He limped over to the bed and held up his sword. "But I must."

Katara shut her eyes and turned away, then ran out to the temple of the spirits. She stayed there for what might have been hours. As she sat at the edge of the small family temple in the pouring rain, Katara made her decision. She lit the candle that was held by a small statuette of a girl and knelt down, praying for bravery.

The waterbender rushed inside and into her father's room. He lay on the bed fast asleep. Katara looked at him tenderly and sighed. She took off her necklace and put it on his nightstand. She walked out quickly, carrying Hakoda's sword, scroll, and armor.

In her own room, Katara took out her father's sword and cut her long and beautiful hair, leaving strands all over the floor. She tied the top back a little, hoping that it looked enough like the traditional warrior's wolf tail that Water Tribe boys wore. She fingered the sides a little, feeling strange without her hair loopies.

Knowing that she would be without her mother's necklace, Katara kept the other gifts from her family close to her. The Yin and Yang pendant that Gran-Gran had given her was pinned on the inside of her light blue shirt. And within her boot, Katara kept Suki's golden war fan. At the thought of Suki, Katara stopped and almost decided to stay behind. But she knew that her warrior friend would want her to go forward. So she did.

Wearing her father's full armor, Katara went out to the stables and awoke Appa. The sky bison was scared at first, not recognizing Katara at all, but she calmed him down and led him outside. Bending the rain away from herself and her riding companion, Katara got into Appa's saddle and flew away.

She looked back down at her home with tears in her blue eyes. The waterbender looked away and kept going forward. "Yip, yip!" she shouted, and Appa zoomed into the sky.

Hours later, Kana was awoken by a strange dream. Running to her granddaughter's room, Kana realized with shock that Katara was no longer there.

"Hakoda! Hakoda!" she yelled, waking the man from his slumber.

"Huh?" he muttered, jerking upward in bed and turning to face Kana in the doorway. "What? What is it Kana?"

"Katara," Kana whispered frantically. "She is gone."

"What?" Hakoda thundered, reaching on his bedside table for the scroll he was to present to his captain when he reported for camp in the morning. Instead, his fingers found a blue silk ribbon with a shining stone on the end. His wife's pendant had been replaced for his scroll.

"No!" he gasped. Hakoda leapt out bed and ran to the wardrobe only to find it empty. His suit of armor had been taken and his daughter was nowhere to be found. "Katara!" he shouted, running out of the house in a hasty attempt to catch her. He hoped and prayed to the spirits that she had not left yet, but it was too late. Outside, the gates to Appa's stall were blowing in the harsh storm winds.

In his dash to find Katara, Hakoda's bad leg had given out and he fell to the ground. "Hakoda!" Kana gasped, running to his side and trying to help the man up. "Oh Hakoda, you have to go after her. The firebenders, they could kill her!"

Hakoda breathed heavily and stood up from the ground. "I can't go after her," he said.

"But Katara- ." Kana began. Hakoda waved a hand and gave the woman a grave look.

"If anyone finds out that Katara is a woman, she _will_ be killed."

**Suspensful enough for you? I love my cliffhangers, don't I? Next time, we meet Tui, La, and a strange little girl who is tasked with awakening the Great Stone Serpent.**

**Don't forget to review! ;D**


	6. The Great Stone Serpent

**A/N: Thank you so much guys! Can you believe that in just three days this has become my most viewed, reviewed, alerted, and favorited story here on fanfiction? I am overwhelmed at the amazing response and I can't thank you guys enough. To all the people who have reviewed and favorited this story, thank you so much. Having the support of you guys is unbelievably amazing and I love you all so much for the positive feedback. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one. Toph finally makes her big appearance. I tried being funny again and it might not have worked, but oh well. This should be a good one.**

**Also, I was going to hold off on posting this for about a day or two, but I just couldn't resist doing it today because my world cultures teacher showed us Mulan in class today. I was so excited and had to put this up. Our class loves this scene and we all have some great running jokes about it, so I hope that I do it justice. *fingers crossed***

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Disney, no Avatar, no nothing. K?**

Back on the hill next to Katara's house, the sun rose over the spirit temple and shone its light on a small golden statue. A little girl wearing a long and flowing dress held a candle in her tiny metal hands. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun and she had a decorated headband around her forehead. The strange thing about the small, golden girl, however, was her eyes. There had been no pupils carved into her gold eye sockets, only flat and dull eyes. The sun kept on rising and its light reached the gate of the temple where a Yin and Yang symbol had been delicately carved into the wood.

And when the light hit that symbol, the temple of spirits suddenly began to awake. The symbol at the top of the gate started to glow a bright blue. A large man and an elegant woman appeared beneath it and floated over to the inside of the spirit temple. Both of them were glowing the same blue as the Yin and Yang on the gate. The man leaned down and tapped the statuette of the little girl with the candle and brought her to life.

"Ah!" the girl shouted. "Yes, another chance to fight! I'll be kicking butt and taking names like nobody else. So, whose family are we guarding this time?"

"Toph," the man said sternly, trying to get the small girl's attention.

She didn't seem to hear him. "You wanna take on me and my family?" she shouted, fighting an invisible enemy. "I don't think so!" She kicked and punched and shouted with all her might.

The woman watched, amused, as the small and dainty looking young girl kicked around in her dress, fighting her pretend enemies. "Take that! And that!" she shouted.

The man was still strict looking and didn't smile at her. "Toph," the man said harshly. "You will not be fighting anyone."

The girl stopped her kicking and shouting and turned her face upward. "Tui, is that you?"

"Yes," the man nodded, unsmiling. "It is I."

"Well I'll be," the little girl said. "I haven't seen you in years. Well, not that I can see you now, anyway."

The woman looked down on Toph and frowned. "That is exactly why you cannot go out and fight. During your last attempt at protecting a family, what happened?"

"Oh, hey La," she little girl smiled. "You're here too."

"Answer me, small one," La said. Her demeanor began to take on that of Tui's severity.

Toph frowned and tapped her forehead, as though thinking. "Hm, I don't seem to remember anything bad happening…"

"You were blinded!" Tui began to shout. "You lost your sight and the entire Bei Fong family was captured in the 600 day siege of Ba Sing Se."

"Oh yeah," Toph said, shrugging her shoulders and grinning. "Then what do you need me for Tui?"

The man glowered at her. "You are the only earthbending spirit among us," he said. "We need you to wake the spirit guardians."

"Ugh," Toph groaned. "Come on Tui, can't you give me something to do that's not, oh I don't know, pointless? You know I can fight, so let me."

"You are blind now!" Tui thundered at her. His eyes raged like the sea he embodied.

"So?" Toph shouted back, holding her ground. "I still got it. I can feel the vibrations through my feet. If you just let me- ."

"No!" La yelped, waving her hand around frantically. "You are needed to wake the other spirits. Katara will need all of the help she can get."

"Fine!" Toph spat. She walked over to the graves and hit the ground with her feet. The earthbending shook the whole temple and soon, dozens of spirits were floating around. "Wake up snoozles!" she yelled, stomping again.

"They're here Toph," La said in an aggravated tone, but the blind girl couldn't see her smiling.

"Oh," she said, slumping to the ground. All around her, the spirits were arguing over Katara.

"She's a disgrace!"

"She only wanted to help."

"Her fancy waterbending won't get her out of this one."

"She's going to be killed!"

"If they find out she's really a girl, they'll kill her anyway."

"Be quiet!" Tui shouted at them all. The spirits hushed and listened to him speak. "Katara needs one of the spirits to aid her in this war. Otherwise, she will fail."

Again, the spirits argued over who would be the one to guide Katara in the war. Some suggested themselves, others wanted Tui and La to go. Toph furrowed her brow in anger. No one would ever let her go and help.

"Who we need," Tui echoed. "Is the great waterbending master." Outside the temple stood the large stone statue of a great serpent.

La seemed worried. "The Great Stone Serpent hasn't been used as a spirit guardian before. Do you really think that he will help Katara?"

"Of course," Tui replied. "She is a waterbender. The Great Stone Serpent will be of much help to her. Toph!" he shouted, startling her.

"What?" she jumped. "You really want me to go? Aw shucks, I thought you'd never ask."

Tui laughed along with the other spirits. "No Toph, Katara will need a real bender to help her."

"I am a real bender!" Toph shouted, stamping her foot and sending small rocks everywhere. The spirits kept laughing.

"No Toph," Tui said. "A waterbender is what Katara needs." He picked her up and tossed her out of the temple. "Now go awaken the Great Stone Serpent."

"Ah!" Toph shouted as she hurtled to the ground. She landed on her face and got up, spitting out dirt. She marched over and touched the statue with her hand.

"So, you think that you can steal my job, huh? Well I'll show you. I'll show them all." She lifted her foot and hit it hard on the ground. "Wake up man!" She yelled.

When nothing happened, she tried again. "You have to go help Katara!" Toph shouted at the serpent, stamping her foot once more. But she had overdone it.

A loud crumbling sound alerted her to disaster. Though she couldn't see it, Toph could feel the vibrations of the entire statue. It had broken to bits by her extreme use of force. Suddenly, a large bit of the rock came and hit the blind girl in the face, knocking her over.

"Ow!" she shouted, getting up and rubbing her forehead. She held out her hand and surveyed her surroundings. Realizing that she had completely obliterated the statue, she winced. "Crap! The spirits will have my head."

"Great Stone Serpent?" Tui called from high up the hill in the temple.

"Ugh," Toph called, searching frantically for the head of what had been the Great Stone Serpent. Earthbending the serpent's head towards the top of the hill, she ran after it and hid in the bushed. She then wiggled it around in the hopes that Tui, La, and the other spirits wouldn't notice it was really just her.

"Good," La called. "You have awakened. Now go and help Katara."

Toph made the head nod and then bended the rock down the hill, still praying that they didn't notice her. "Great, now who's going to help Katara?"

A small chirping noise made Toph stand up suddenly and look around. "What?" she asked. "Who's there? What are you?"

Momo swooped down and sniffed Toph's face. "Ugh, lemur bat," she muttered. "Well what do you want?"

Momo held out his tiny hands and gave Toph a peach, chattering in delight. Toph took the fruit and sighed. "How this gonna help?" Momo babbled some more in his incoherent lemur speak. "Are you saying I should go bring Katara some fruit? She doesn't want this," Toph tossed the peach onto the ground and Momo leapt after it. He began to chew on it himself contentedly.

"Katara doesn't need fruit," Toph muttered angrily to herself. "She needs help. Oh that poor girl. All alone at war camp without a single female around to help her."

Momo clicked his tongue and nodded.

The blind girl paused and then smiled. "Unless I go with," she said to herself.

Toph began to pace back and forth, grinning broadly to herself. "That's it. I'm going to be the one to save Katara. She will take my help, save the world, and I can be a spirit guardian! I can fight. Wahoo!" She shouted loudly and bended the ground beneath her, making it spin and jump.

She rushed off towards where the biggest vibrations came from. There was only one war camp close by and Toph could sense all of the moment the soldiers must be making. She laughed, feeling happier than she ever had. "Come on little lemur," she said, climbing onto Momo's back and grabbing him by the ears and directing him towards Katara's camp. "This way. We're gonna be heroes!"

**I hope you all liked that one. There are great things to come! And please review! *heart* ~Tori**

**p.s. For Courtney and Mr. Sweet, I have one last thing to say. "Dishonor! Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow! Dishonor on your _whole_ family!"**


	7. Ozai's Message

**A/N: Okay guys, as much as I don't want to do this, we've got to check up on Ozai for the time being. He threatened me to make a chapter with his name in it or I would die and, much like the great and wonderful Eddie Izzard, the choice "or death" has never appealed to me. (five stars for Eddie Izzard, anyone?)**

**Because of that, this will probably be the shortest chapter ever written by me. It's only about four hundred words and not much happens. *ducks in fear of Ozai's wrath* This scene follows the movie very closely, however, and I honestly just couldn't bring myself to make this a part of another chapter. This is just so separate from everything else that happens that I had to give it a chapter of it's own. I hope you don't mind the insane shortness of this (TWSS) but rapid updates should be occuring very soon so no worries.**

**Disclaimer: Ozai, Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Shan Yu all belong to Avatar and Mulan respectively. They do not belong to me. I fail to see the point of making that any more clear than it already is. **

Hundreds of komodo rhinos stormed by, shaking the ground. Firebenders sat upon them, malice written on their horrible faces. Suddenly, the leader stopped them all. Out of the trees, a girl clad in pink flipped in front of him.

"Ozai," she said in a sweet voice, bowing before him. "Mai and I found scouts along the road."

He grinned menacingly. "Where are they?"

"Here," another girl walked out of the woods, two soldiers in front of her. This girl dressed in black and waved her sharp knives before the two men. "Ty Lee and I caught them spying in the woods."

Ozai stepped off of his komodo rhino and towards the two cowering soldiers. They were both dressed in green, signaling themselves as members of the Earth Kingdom. "So," he said, still grinning. "You found me."

"The Emperor will stop you!" one of them shouted bravely. His comrade looked over at him and shook his head, terrified.

"The Emperor will never stop me," Ozai said to the men. "He is too peaceful to break the harmony he has concocted between the nations. All that would change by killing me. I'm amazed he even asked for soldiers. You can never defeat me."

The first man stood up and took a fighting stance. "Yes we can," he stammered.

"Hm," Ozai said, looking the man over. "An earthbender. Maybe you are strong." He turned around and then jumped back at the man, shooting out a jet of flames.

"Ah!" He screamed in agony as his left sleeve continued burning. His friend came up and tried to put the flames out unsuccessfully.

Evil laughter came from behind where Ozai stood. "Very good father," a female voice said. "That was almost as entertaining as when poor Zuzu got burned.

Ozai smiled at his daughter, but continued facing the men. "Send the Emperor a message from me," he said with power. "Tell Gyatso to send his strongest. They will never win."

Both Earth Kingdom men ran off with looks of terror on their faces. Ozai mounted his komodo rhino and turned to his daughter who was now flanked by her two friends. "Azula," he asked the girl, whose eyes shone with fire. "How many men does it take to deliver a message?"

She smiled and shot bright blue lightning from her fingertips. A terrible scream sounded from far off in the mist. "One, father."

**I love that intense ending. In the movie, I would always freak out a bit when that happened. **

**Next, Katara meets Toph and together they enter camp for the first time. There, they meet some very familiar faces! *hint-hint* *wink-wink* Hope you all enjoy it!**

**p.s. To all of you who understand my Eddie Izzard reference: "Tea and cake or death, tea and cake or death! Little red cookbook, little red cookbook!" ;DDD**


	8. Entering Camp

**A/N: Yes! We've finally arrived. Katara is going to war camp for the first time. How will it go? Who will we meet? *suggestive eyebrow raise* Let's find out.**

**Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing.**

Far off, Katara sat on a hill outside of camp with Appa. "So, uh, where do I sign in?" Katara asked, trying to get her voice to sound manly and deep.

Appa just looked at her blankly.

"Okay," she said, ignoring him and taking out her sword. "How about this?" She waved it around and then fell over. "Ugh, it weighs more than I thought," she said to herself. She tried picking it up again and winced. "This thing weighs more than I do."

Katara dropped the sword and looked down at camp. "Oh, who am I kidding? It's going to take a miracle to get me into the army."

"Did I hear someone ask for a miracle?" a voice yelled.

"What?" Katara asked, walking over to it. A large shadow of someone was cast on the rock beside her. The pebbles on the ground at Katara's feet began to shake and rattle. A wind of rocks and dirt and earth was swelling upward and straight for her.

"Because sweetness, I can make all your dreams come true. I am incredible. I am indestructible. I am the greatest earthbender in the whole world!" Toph shouted and stepped out from behind the rock. Momo also appeared, hopping out from behind the rock as well.

"Who are you?" Katara asked, picking up Toph in her hands and examining her.

"Ah!" Toph yelled at being picked up. "I am the great Blind Bandit. Now put me down!" she called, stamping on Katara's hand.

"Ow!" she yelled, dropping the small girl and sending her flying.

"Ugh," Toph sat up right away. "You can call me Toph, sweetness. I'm a spirit. I'm here to protect you."

"You?" Katara asked, laughing. "But you're just a little girl. And hey, are you really blind?" Katara knelt down and poked Toph, sending her to the ground again.

"Ow!" she shouted. "And yes, I am blind. You got anything to say about that? At least I'm not a cross dresser!"

"Um, sorry?" Katara said, still unsure.

"And blind or not, I'm still the best earthbender there is," Toph said proudly.

"Really?" Katara asked, her forehead wrinkled in uncertainty.

"Yeah," the little girl said, stamping her foot and sending a rock pedestal five feet in the air so that it was level with Katara's face. "I can't see, but I can feel the vibrations in the ground with my feet. And I can feel your heart rate too. It comes in handy. In fact, I think that I see more than people who aren't blind."

"Whoa," Katara said, picking Toph up in her hand again. "So you can really help me?" she asked.

"Sure can," Toph grinned. "Cause if the army finds out you're a girl, the penalty is death."

"I know that," Katara said, nodding. "I always have. But I have to do this for my father."

"Well all right then sweetness. You and your ostrich horse over there had better get ready for war." Momo flew over and began to paw at Toph's little face. "Get away, you stupid beast," Toph snapped, shielding her face from Momo's swipes. "Why'd I even bring you?"

"Hey," Katara said, picking up the creature and holding him in her arms. "You found Momo."

Toph stopped trying to send rocks at the lemur and glanced upward to Katara. "You mean that thing is yours?"

"Yes," Katara nodded. "His name is Momo," she explained, giggling. "He's my lucky lemur."

"Well get him away from me." Toph yelled. "And no giggling!"

"Why not?" Katara asked, confused.

"Cause you're a guy now. Guys don't giggle. Ever."

"And how would you know?" Katara asked. "You're not a guy."

"Just trust me sweetness," Toph said, patting her thumb knowingly. "Listen to me and we can go places. Now man up and let's get going!"

Katara knew she was in trouble the moment she walked into the camp. Everyone around her was so… male. And gross. They were spitting and picking their noses and doing disgusting guy things. "So what's it like?" Toph asked, glancing around from her spot in Katara's shirt collar.

"Nasty…" Katara said. "Do I really have to act like that?"

"You bet," Toph nodded. "Otherwise, those men will see straight through your armor." Katara gasped and automatically covered her chest with her arm.

There were men everywhere and tons of them had huddled around a guy dressed in red with a dragon tattooed on his whole upper body. "It's for protection," he said proudly. "No firebender can take me down now."

A rugged and handsome man wearing dark green leaned over and looked at the tattoo, seemingly impressed. "What about nonbenders?" he asked the man, smiling. A blade of grass was in between his teeth.

"No problem," the man in red grinned.

"Hm," the handsome man muttered. Then he punched the one with the tattoo in the gut, sending him flying. Another boy laughed loudly.

"Nice one Jet," he said. He gave the man named Jet a friendly punch in the arm. This boy was dressed in blue and had a warrior's wolf tail. He was from the Water Tribe!

"Now that's the type of man you have to be," Toph said from her spot on Katara's shoulder. "Tough, like that guy Jet."

Jet saw Katara looking at him and practically growled at her. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Punch him, like that goofy boy did," Toph whispered. Katara obliged and punched Jet harder than she had intended, pushing him backwards. He landed on the ground with a loud grunt.

"Oh no," Katara whispered.

"Hey!" Jet yelled, jumping to his feet and pulling out twin hook swords. He brandished one in Katara's face.

"Um…" she began, forgetting her manly voice and everything else. Now, Katara just wanted to go home.

"Good, now slap him on the behind," Toph encouraged. "They like that."

Katara did so and Jet yelled. "I'm gonna hit you so hard, it'll make the spirits dizzy."

Katara backed away from him and a small bald boy wearing yellow and sporting a blue arrow on his head approached. "Now Jet, calm down," he said.

"Not now Aang," Jet said to the boy, still bearing down on Katara. "I'm busy."

Aang walked up and put his hands on Jet's shoulders, making him wince. "Jet relax, and chant with me," he said. The boy with the arrow began to chant like he said.

"I don't want to," Jet scowled, shrugging out of Aang's grip on his shoulders.

"Jet," Aang said, standing in front of him now, looking him in the eye. "Chant."

"Fine," Jet said and began chanting with the arrow boy. He relaxed a little and grunted, letting out a sigh.

"Feel better?" the boy asked, smiling like a kid.

"Yeah," Jet said, turning to stand back with the boy from the Water Tribe. "That little girl's not worth my time."

Katara gratefully walked away, but Toph popped out of the back of her shirt. "Little girl? What about you, mama's boy?" she shouted, making them think Katara had said it.

"Hey!" Jet ran up with his hook swords, but Katara was quicker. She rushed over to a nearby barrel and bended the water out of it, hitting Jet in the face.

"Ah!" he shouted, falling over and onto the Water Tribe boy. He reached up and punched him, only seeing the blue shirt and thinking that he was Katara.

"Ow!" the boy shouted, clutching his face.

"Oh," Jet said, realizing it wasn't who he was after. "Sorry Sokka."

"You!" the boy named Sokka yelled, getting out a sharpened boomerang and throwing it at Jet. He backed away, narrowly missing the boomerang's sharp edge, only to have it hit him in the back of the head on its way back. Sokka caught it a grinned.

"You guys!" Aang shouted, walking up to them and hitting each on the head with his staff. "Stop it!"

Katara had just started to sneak away, but Sokka noticed her. "There he goes!" he shouted. The three of them followed her in hot pursuit, through the dining area. Many of the men were standing in line to get their soup and Katara was being cornered by the three angry boys. She spotted the soup and bended it out of the giant bowl, splashing it onto Jet, Aang, and Sokka.

The soup had fallen everywhere and was now covering everyone who was in the tent. Katara looked around nervously and grinned. "Um…hey guys."

**I'd like to apologize if any of you (especially SnoopyGirl213, I'm so sorry!) thought that the "familiar faces" I mentioned turning up in this chapter were Zuko. I didn't mean to tease you like that. (Okay, maybe I meant to tease you a little *wink*) But, I promise all of you that Zuko makes his first appearance in the very next chapter. And yes, he's so fricken hot! ~Loves from Tori**


	9. Captain Zuko

**A/N: Captain Zuko? Did I just read that right? Yes dear viewer, yes you did. Our supermegafoxyawesomehot leading man _finally_ appears in his debute chapter! (five stars for StarKid Potter, anyone?) Sorry for it being a little short, Zuko's appearance should make up for that. And the next chapter should be the best one of all, so get ready people! I don't know about you guys, but I'm so excited. This should be fun.**

**Disclaimer: The ever so gorgeous Zuko is not mine. Sorry. But whoever does own him is welcome to give him to me for Christmas!**

"Ozai and his firebenders have struck here, here, and here," General Iroh said, pointing to spots on the large map of the Earth Kingdom. "We will corner him in Serpent's Pass and defeat his troops."

The general stood up and looked at his nephew proudly. "You will stay and train the troops," he said. "You know how your father works and you will be able to teach them how to fight against his army."

Zuko stood up along with his uncle and looked at him happily. "You mean- ?"

"Yes Zuko," Iroh said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You are a captain now. When you are ready, you and the others here will join us at Serpent's Pass. Congratulations."

"But, but- ." Zhao stuttered in the corner. "Prince Zuko is not ready to command an army. He is just a boy. He's- ."

"No younger than you were when you began serving the emperor, Zhao," General Iroh said. He turned back to his nephew and got out a twin set of broadswords. "These are for you Zuko. They were mine when I was your age. Use them well."

"I will Uncle," said the young prince, nodding his head in respect. "Captain Zuko," he said under his breath.

The three men left the war tent to see the entire camp in a large fight. Everyone was punching, hitting, or kicking someone else. Zuko flinched in alarm. No one could train these men, especially not him. His uncle looked at him almost sadly.

"Good luck captain," he said, mounting his ostrich horse and moving on with the rest of the prepared troops.

"Good luck Uncle," Zuko called after him. Zhao looked over at Zuko and smiled.

"Day one," he said.

Katara dodged in and out of the punches, holding her breath and cringing. All of the men around her were going crazy. With this much testosterone in one place, she doubted that she could make it through one day, let alone this whole war.

"Soldiers!" a voice shouted, causing all the men to stop.

Jet pointed to Katara. "Hey, it was his fault." The captain strode over to where Katara stood and bore down on her.

Katara looked up and gasped. The man had a large, red scar that covered half of his face. It was in the shape of a flame and went from his left eye to his ear. At first, Katara was a little afraid of the man, but then she looked harder. He was unbearable handsome, even with the intimidating scar. His eyes were pure liquid gold and they shone like stars. He had shaggy black hair that fell to his face. His arms looked rather muscular. She tried not to blush.

"I don't want any trouble in my camp," he said to her, growling. His golden eyes flamed.

"Uh, sorry," she said. Behind her, Toph coughed and she realized her mistake. Deepening her voice, she went on. "But you know what it's like," she said gruffly. "Sometimes you just gotta kill something."

He looked at her apprehensively. "What's your name?" he asked.

"My name?" she stuttered, again forgetting the male voice. "Uh…"

"What about Jet?" Toph suggested.

"His name is Jet," Katara countered.

The captain narrowed his glare. "What was that?" he asked her.

"Um, nothing," Katara said gruffly. "My name is, um…"

"Li," Toph hissed at her. "Try Li. There are hundreds of them."

Katara coughed and straightened up, looking at the man in front of her. "My name is Li," she said firmly, almost trying to convince herself.

"Li?" he asked skeptically. "Let me see your papers."

Katara fumbled for her scroll and handed in to him, squinting her eyes shut a little. He took it and skimmed over the lettering keenly. "Hakoda is your father?" he asked her, stunned. "Hakoda of the Water Tribe?"

"Yes," she mumbled, looking at the ground. Her father must be so worried right now.

"I didn't know Hakoda had a son," said a man who seemed vaguely familiar. Katara looked up to see Zhao, the man who had handed out the scrolls in her village. She had a quick intake of breath and tried not to look at him, hoping that he wouldn't recognize her. Zhao's eyes became hungry suddenly. "Though he did have this daughter- ."

"Enough," the man said, holding his hand out to Zhao. He turned back to Katara. "So you're a waterbender?" he asked, sounding the slightest bit impressed.

She nodded eagerly. "Yes."

"And you did all this?" he asked, motioning to the soup and water soaked campsite.

"Um, yeah," she said nervously, worried now.

He smiled. "Then you and the rest of the men here will all spend tonight cleaning up camp. And tomorrow, we start training."

The men all stood around and glared at Katara, rolling up their sleeves and making threatening faces. Katara winced and backed away from them. Zhao stood there, looking at her interestedly.

"You all heard Captain Zuko!" he barked. "Now get to work."

Katara sighed and propped the giant bowl up again. Everyone was still looking at her like they wanted to kill her, but she ignored them. Instead, she got into a fighting stance and bent the water and soup on the ground back into the bowl. Everyone stood and stared at her, completely surprised.

She turned back around, seeing that with the water cleared up, the place hardly looked like it needed cleaning. Some things needed to be put back in their place and one tent seemed a little askew, but other than that it was fine. She dusted her hands off and walked away.

"You're welcome," she said to the troops who still stared at her in awe.

When she got back to Appa, she took him and Momo to a spot far off from the others. She didn't want to be anywhere near these men. After setting up her tent, Toph climbed up on Katara's shoulder and sighed.

"So," she said conversationally. "He must be pretty cute."

"Who?" Katara asked, trying to hide her furious blush, despite the fact that Toph couldn't see it.

"Your captain," she said simply. "That Zuko guy. He must be cute."

"Um…how do you- ?"

"I can feel your heart rate, remember?" she replied, smirking. "It sped up like a cheetah lion when he was talking to you. So, I'll ask again, is the boy cute?"

Katara grinned a little. "Yeah, a bit. He's got this terrible scar on his face, but his eyes are like the sun." She looked up at the night sky and saw the stars twinkling above her. "Or stars."

"Well don't start getting any ideas sweetness," Toph said, hopping from Katara's shoulder and onto Momo's tail. The lemur shrieked and jumped in the air.

"Oh shut it!" Toph shouted at the poor creature. She turned back to her friend. "Katara, just try not to crush on your own captain. You're all guys here, remember?"

"Right," Katara grimaced, thoughts of her charade coming back to her.

"So kick the pretty boy out of your head and try to focus on manly things." When the little girl heard the giggle and sensed Katara's heart speeding up, she groaned and tried again. "No Katara, not _manly things_, but you know. Think of things that men think about. And what did I say about giggling?"

**So what's next for Katara? Let's just say, Zuko's gonna make a man out of her! *squee* ;D**

**Please review! **

**p.s. "You know how it is, sometimes you've just gotta kill something!" Best line ever? I think so. **


	10. I'll Make a Man Out of You

**A/N: And here it is folks! Get your power music ready cause it's time for Zuko to teach us all how to be a man! I don't know how excited you guys are, but this is the best chapter by far and I can't wait! AHHH! Let's go!**

The sun rose up the next morning to a peaceful Katara, sleeping in her lighter clothes. Toph marched up to her and stomped her foot on the ground, sending the earth beneath Katara's head to shoot forward. "Whoa!" she shouted, sitting up immediately.

"Good, you're awake," Toph said proudly, her hands on her hips and a fake smile plastered to her face. "Now get going, today's the first day of training." She climbed up to Katara's shoulders and put her hair into the wolf's tail.

"What?" Katara asked sleepily.

"Come on," Toph said, trying to pull Katara to a sitting position. "Your beloved Zuko will have already started without you."

"Huh?" Katara asked, picking up Toph in her hand and holding the blind girl in front of her face.

"Yeah, you were mumbling about him all night." Toph smirked and then mimicked Katara's voice. "Zuko, Zuko, oh Zuko, kiss me." She laughed and stuck out her lips like she was kissing someone.

Katara gasped and blushed insanely. "I did not!" she shouted, sounding very much like a girl.

"Oh, I beg to differ," Toph countered, still smirking. "Now let me see your war face."

"Ugh!" Katara shouted, throwing Toph on the ground.

"Not bad," she said, nodding to herself. "Well, if I could see it, that is. Now hurry up. And don't crush on the captain!"

Katara quickly wrapped an under dressing tightly around her chest and pulled on her blue warrior's outfit. She shoved each of her feet into the black boots that still held Suki's golden fan and grabbed her father's old sword. "I'm off," she shouted back to Toph, who now sat on Momo's back, riding him like an ostrich horse.

"You go girl!" she shouted back. "I mean- ."

But Katara never found out what Toph really meant. She was already halfway into camp, running like crazy so as not to be late. The men were all gathered around, laughing and telling jokes.

"So," Sokka said, waltzing up to Katara. "Looks like Li is late this morning. Catching up on a little beauty sleep?" he asked her, grinning.

"Um…" Katara stammered. Could he tell she wasn't who she said she was? Did Sokka know?"

"Hey, you won't be a beauty for long," Jet said menacingly, holding up a fist to Katara's face. "Say goodbye to your face, pretty boy."

"Jet!"

Everyone turned to see Zuko, shirtless, walking up to them. Katara gasped, his muscles were big, strong, and perfect. Then she remembered what Toph had said and looked away. Still, she couldn't help thinking that this young man was gorgeous.

He smiled and got out an arrow. Setting the end on fire, he pointed it at Jet, but then the large wooden pole that stood in the center of camp. Zuko let the arrow go and it embedded itself right at the top. "Get the arrow," he said.

"Fine, Scarface," Katara heard Jet mutter. "I'll get that arrow. And I'll do it with my shirt on."

He marched forward and pulled out his hook swords, using them to climb a small way up the pole. "But wait!" Zuko called. Jet glared at him and let go of his swords, expertly landing on his feet and pulling the twin swords back out of the pole.

"You need these," Zuko said, taking out two large golden weights with dragons on them. "You cannot get the arrow without them."

"What?" Jet asked, throwing his hands up. But while they were in the air, Zuko quickly wrapped each of the weights around Jet's wrists. Jet fell forward, losing his balance a little and then stood up. "Oh wow," he said lifting the weight up with extreme effort.

"Now go," Zuko said, pointing to the arrow that was still smoking.

Jet groaned and threw the weights up, unsuccessfully trying to get to the top. He fell down instantly and Zuko frowned at him. "Sokka!"

"Yes!" the Water Tribe boy shrieked, jumping a little next to Katara.

"Your turn," he said, handing the golden weights over to Sokka. The boy pulled out his boomerang.

"Can't I just- ." he started.

"No!" Zuko stated firmly, turning to look at everyone. His eyes glowed with anger. "What happens if the firebenders take away your weapons and capture you? You all need to be able to handle these situations without backup. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" everyone echoed back to him, standing straighter and taller than they had before.

Sokka made a sad face and handed over his boomerang. Revving up his strength, he threw the weights into the air and tried to climb up, failing like Jet had. Zuko's frown deepened. "Aang, your turn!"

The boy with the blue arrows smiled. He held out his staff and tapped it on the ground, making wings appear on either side. It was a glider. His grin widened at everyone's surprise and he stood on it, shooting upwards using airbending.

"No!" Zuko shouted, sending a fireball that narrowly missed Aang and his glider. "No bending either." Then he turned to the very scared looking Katara and loomed over her. "Understand?"

"Uh…" she whimpered, and then nodded slightly. "Yes."

"Yes sir," he corrected her loudly.

She yelped and tore her gaze from his perfectly toned chest and upper body. "Yes sir," she whispered. He held out the weights for her and she took them.

"Oh!" she shouted, falling to the ground because of the sheer weight of them. She groaned with the effort of lifting them, but couldn't even get them to budge. This wasn't working.

"We've got a long way to go," Zuko said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He threw thin wooden poles at the group and everyone caught them. Jet grabbed the one meant for Katara and knocked her over with it.

"Opps," he said, smiling and dropping her pole to the ground.

"_Let's get down to business_," Zuko said, throwing two pots in the air with his pole and breaking them to bits as they came down. "_To defeat Ozai_."

Everyone in the group tried mimicking his moves to no avail. They were all pretty terrible, Katara was pleased to see. At least she wouldn't be the only one. Behind her, Sokka tossed his boomerang forward, hitting her in the back.

"Ah!" she yelled, falling forward and knocking everyone over in the process.

"_Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?_" Zuko shouted, jumping over the others and bearing down on Katara. "_You're the saddest bunch I ever met. And you can bet before we're through._"

She cringed a little and looked around at the damage she had done. Before Katara knew it, Zuko had grabbed her by the shirt and was holding her directly in front of his face. His gaze was hard and angry, but she could tell that her mouth had formed a circle of surprise. Katara didn't want to think about it, but there was a part of her that really enjoyed being this close to Zuko.

"_Mister, I'll make a man out of you_," he muttered, throwing her to the ground.

Over the course of many days, Zuko put them all through grueling tests. First was archery.

_Tranquil as a forest_

_But on fire within_

Toph continually tried to help Katara, but nothing got past Zuko's eyes. Every time Toph would try and force the stone arrowhead to go where she wanted it to, Zuko was there and ready to stop any cheating. His golden eyes bore down on Katara every time, making her nervous.

_Once you find your center_

_You are sure to win_

The same thing would happen when they all practiced balance and Katara would use her own bending to keep a pail of water on her head. Everyone would throw stones at her to try and throw her off. It almost always worked, much to Zuko's displeasure.

"_You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot_," he said to them. "_And you haven't got a clue._" He turned to Katara as he said this.

"_Somehow I'll make a man out of you._"

All of the other men at camp, however, were having similar problem. Other than the fact that all three of them actually were men, Jet, Sokka, and Aang were all having trouble keeping up with Zuko and his training.

"_I'm never gonna catch my breath,_" Aang lamented one day.

Jet nodded in agreement. "_Say goodbye to those who knew me._"

Sokka sighed and shook his head. "_Boy was I a fool back home for goofing off._"

Katara was grinning at the boys' conversation. She wasn't the only one with problems. Suddenly, Zuko entered the dining tent. "You," he said, pointing to Katara. "Li, we're going to spar next. Get ready."

"_This guy's got 'em scared to death,_" Toph muttered to Katara as she headed for the river to start her fight with the captain.

She sighed and shook her head at Toph. "_Hope he doesn't see right through me_."

Katara stood by the river in a sloppy fighting stance. She was so nervous.

"Are you ready?" Katara jumped, even though she should be used to that perfect voice always sneaking up on her. She turned around to see him standing there, shirtless, and completely oblivious to what that was really doing to her.

"Yes," she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, Katara spied Toph leaving her shirt to get on to Momo's back and land in the nearby tree. She waved, but Katara ignored her.

"Then let's go," he said, punching his fist forward and shooting out a jet of flames. Katara quickly got the water from the stream to come up and douse out the fire in a wave. The heat dissipated into steam and Zuko came in for another hit.

He threw himself toward her, sending a flaming kick at her side. She jumped out of the way and conjured a water whip. Wrapping it around his ankles, she froze him to ground and backed away. He bent over and set his hands on fire, melting the ice instantly.

"Why aren't you fighting?" he asked, sending another kick of flames that she dodged.

"Why are you?" she shrieked, sounding too much like herself. Zuko gave her a strange look, but moved forward, giving her a good hit to the face. She flew backwards and slumped into the river.

Jet, Sokka, and Aang had all come to watch the fight. After seeing Katara splash into the water like she had, Aang shuddered. "_Now I really wish that I knew how to swim._" At a disapproving glance from Zuko, Katara knew that their fight was over. As the captain left, so did the small group of soldiers who had come to watch the exchange. When Katara was alone again, Toph flew over to her on Momo's back and helped to earthbend her friend out of the river.

"Come on sweetness," Toph said to Katara after a long moment of silence. "We'd better catch up. They're going out running today."

"That's right," Katara groaned, pulling herself to her feet.

_We must be swift as a coursing river_

_With all the force of a great typhoon_

_With all the strength of a raging fire_

_Mysterious as the dark side of the moon_

On the run, Katara stayed in the back, unable to catch up with anyone. She panted and slowed her walk, barely getting one foot in front of the other. Zuko noticed that she was behind.

He had been giving the warriors a little speak, encouraging them to keep going. "_Time is racing toward us till Ozai arrives. Heed my every order, and you might survive._"

Katara had fallen to the ground, unable to go any farther. "Get up Katara," Toph yelled, grabbing her head by the hair and shaking it. "You've got to get up and get your man."

But it was too late. Katara's 'man' had already come and Toph had to dive back into her shirt for cover. He leaned down and helped Katara to her feet. "Thank you Zuko," she breathed, still feeling faint.

"Go home," he said firmly.

"What?" she asked, her breath coming back to her in a rush. "But you can't send me home! I have to- ."

"_You're not suited for the rage of war_," he said again, louder this time. "_So pack up, go home, you're through. How could I make a man out of you?_" His face was firm but his golden eyes burned with sadness. Katara looked at him pleadingly.

"Please," she whispered.

"Go home."

Katara rushed back down the mountain with Toph following her closely on Momo's back. When she was back to the camp and far away from all the men, Katara feel to her knees in the center of camp and broke down crying.

"Aw, sweetness, it's okay," said Toph, reaching out a little hand to Katara's cheek. "You tried, we both did."

"But it wasn't good enough!" Katara yelled, her angry voice echoing through the empty camp. "No matter how hard I try it's never good enough." She put her head into her folder arms and continued weeping. Glancing upward, Katara saw the arrow that still sat at the top of the pole. No one had been able to retrieve it. And the golden weights still glinted next to the wooden pole in the moonlight, untouched.

"That's it," Katara whispered, getting up and walking over to them. The golden dragons sparkled like Zuko's eyes.

_We must be swift as a coursing river_

_With all the force of a great typhoon_

She sighed and tied them around her wrists. Groaning, Katara wrapped each of the weights around each other and pulled herself up the pole. As the sun rose, the troops returned, all stunned to see the formerly failed soldier, almost at his way to the top.

_With all the strength of a raging fire _

_Mysterious as the dark side of the moon_

Suddenly, Aang had gotten the whole crowd chanting. "Be a man! Be a man!" they all said. Katara's face was covered in sweat and she felt like giving up, but still managed to laugh at the irony. Toph laughed too, joyously urging Katara forward.

"Come on girly, man up!" she cheered.

With one final pull, Katara reached the top. The soldiers all cheered and danced, happily rejoicing her victory. "Li! Li! Li! Li!" they all shouted. Katara hoisted herself to the top and sat on the smooth edge of the pole. Grinning, she took the weights around her wrists and threw them over her shoulder.

_We must be swift as a coursing river_

_With all the force of a great typhoon_

_With all the strength of a raging fire_

_Mysterious as the dark side of the moon_

Hearing the commotion, Zuko had come to see what was going on. He gaped at Katara when he saw her sitting on top of the giant pole. She smirked and threw the arrow at him, just missing his feet. She waved and then laughed. There was no way Katara was going home now.

She grabbed each of the golden weights and put one on either side of the pole. Sliding down, the whole crowd cheered and Zuko looked at her, impressed. "Not bad Li," he said, nodding approvingly.

"So do I get to stay?" she asked, panting slightly from her rigorous climb. She bent over and placed her hands on her knees, looking up at Zuko.

He glared down at her. "No," he said, and then walked off.

**What? Did he just tell her no? Well, I'm putting my very first twist on this, so just go with it!**

**The next scene is of my own invention. It will probably be a little short, but also a lot of awesome, so get ready guys. I'm very excited to see what you all think of my deviation from Mulan. Maybe if it all turns out okay, I'll add in some very original scenes later on as well. And as a reminder, I'm not trying to reinvent the classic Disney movie by turning it into some Avatar-fest, but I do want to keep things fresh and original so that anyone who, like me, has seen Mulan about 100,000,000,000,001 times will still be on their toes. So let me know what you think!**

**And please don't forget to review!**

**p.s. I don't know about all of you guys, but Zuko can make a man out of _me_ any time he wants to! **


	11. Fighting to Stay

**A/N: First of all, I want to thank you guys so much. The only thing that makes this story possible is the support of readers like you. I cannot thank you all enough. This story has blow up completely into something I never would have expected. So a huge thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. I love you all so much and your wonderful support means more to me than anything. To my foreign readers, thank you as well. It's always a good day when you see that someone from a country you've never even heard of is reading your stories. It makes me so happy to know that my story is reaching international readers that I never would have expected. And to the lurkers, even if you don't review, just knowing that someone is reading my story means the world to me. Thank you all so much. **

**Now back to the story. As a refresher, Katara just montaged her way to victory, but Zuko's still being a jerk. How will she take it? What's gonna happen next? Well, that's why you're here! Read and find out! ;D**

The entire camp looked about as taken aback as Katara felt. Her blue eyes turned to slits and she marched after Zuko.

"What do you mean no?" she asked. Zuko ignored her, but she grabbed his shirt and forced him to face her. "Why not?" she yelled loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Everyone stared at her in shock, but Katara didn't even notice.

"You may have gotten that arrow down, but you're still not suited for war," Zuko said, his eyes burning into hers. Her face flushed with anger as well as attraction as she stared back at him, not taking away her gaze. "You'll never beat a firebender," he said firmly, taking her hands off of him and turning away.

She watched him go and felt the stares of a hundred eyes on the back of her neck. The soldiers were all muttering and gossiping worse than the girls in her village did. She clenched her fists in rage. Zuko wasn't getting rid of her this easily.

"Then fight me!" she yelled.

Her demand echoed off of the surrounding mountains and Zuko stopped in his tracks, his shoulders tensed. Everyone instantly stopped talking and waited for their captain's reaction. For a moment, Zuko stood still and unmoving, like he was thinking. And then, he lunged.

Kicking a blast of fire at Katara, she yelped and backed up. She crowd gasped and watched in awe as Katara fought back. She ran over to the river and created a huge water whip, hitting Zuko in the side and sending him crashing into the river. She splashed the waves around, making him noticeably uncomfortable, but not actually hurting him.

Cheers from the soldiers reached Katara's ears and she heard some of them egging her on. "Yeah! Get him Li!" shouted Sokka, pumping a fist into the air. She grinned and turned back to her opponent.

She then sent him towards the sky in a giant spray of water. Freezing the entire arch, with Zuko in it, she sent it crashing back down to earth. Shards of ice flew everywhere and the crowd gasped once more, covering their faces from the sharp miniscule daggers. Zuko hit the ground with a thud, hitting his head hard.

He got up quickly though and went back to Katara. Sending more flames her way and getting close enough for hand to hand fighting, one of his jets of fire grazed her.

"Ah!" Katara cringed and sank a little, holding her arm. The skin was slightly burned, but it was nothing she couldn't heal. Angrier now than she had been before, Katara threw out her fist, hitting Zuko in the shoulder and sending him backward, waves crashing over him in the process.

She slowly walked over to where he lay sputtering and leaned over him. Katara decided that she liked this new role reversal. "Can I stay now, firebender?" she growled, standing over him with a ball of water floating in her left hand.

He pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked her over, nodding. "Yes," he said.

Katara let out a breath and let her water ball fall to the ground. Still clutching her arm, she began to walk away, towards her own tent. Zuko got to his feet and followed her.

"Wait," he said, reaching for her burned arm. "Did I hurt you?"

Katara shook her head. "No," but she winced loudly when he touched it.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked, his golden eyes concerned. "Should I get some help?"

"No," Katara shook her head again. "I can heal it. Just get me some water."

Zuko ran over to the river and filled a pouch with some of its water. He brought it back to her and watched as she bent the water into her hands and onto the wound. The crowd of soldiers had disappeared now that the fight was over. Katara and Zuko were incredibly alone.

He watched in wonder as Katara's hands began to glow and the burn mark went away as quickly as it had come. Zuko was amazed. He looked up at her and smiled. "Maybe you will be useful," he said, almost to himself.

Katara wanted to look away. She knew that she should, but Zuko's golden eyes held her gaze and it seemed like the whole world was melting around the two of them. "Zuko, I- ," she began, but stopped, unsure what to say next. She couldn't tell him that she was really a girl. But she also couldn't keep all of these feelings to herself. What was happening to her? Where was the girl who swore to die in combat before falling in love? What would Suki say when Katara told her about all this?

Oh spirits! Katara knew exactly what Suki would say. _Is he cute?_ What was happening to her?

"So why are you here?" The familiar voice of Zuko caught Katara off guard and brought her away from her thoughts of home.

"What?" Katara asked. Did he know? Was that why he had refused to let her stay?

"You came in place of your father, right?" he asked, his forehead furrowed in slight confusion at Katara's alarm. "He was the one Zhao sent the summon to, wasn't he?"

"Oh." Katara let out a panicked breath of relief. "Yes, my father was supposed to come here to war."

"Well, why did you come instead?" Zuko asked again. His eyes were focused on her, but they had a softness to them that she had never noticed.

"He got injured years ago in a fight for this country," Katara explained. "We all used to live in the South Pole before coming here and we were raided when I was just a baby." She glanced up at Zuko to see if he would try and comment, but he merely looked back at her, unmoving. She went on.

"Before the Emperor Gyatso unified the nations, firebenders were still ruthlessly trying to take over the world." Zuko gave a soft chuckle at that. He, after all, should know more about that than Katara should. "They decided to start with the Water Tribes at the Poles in the hopes that their power would be strong enough to destroy us. My father was the chief of the Southern Water Tribe and led the fight against them. We won, but at a great cost. In securing our victory, my father's leg was savagely burned by the raiders. He can hardly walk on it without a cane now."

"Why did your family come here?" he asked. "Why not just stay in the South Pole?" Katara was pleased by the question. It meant he had been truly listening to her.

"Well," she began. "My father's leg was not the only price we had to pay in that fight. During this time, women were still allowed to fight for their nation. Since the nations were not unified yet, the Emperor had not passed the laws that forbid women from becoming soldiers. The raid on my tribe is one of the reasons why it started."

"My mother was killed by firebenders. She and many other women and wives and mothers of the tribe lost their lives to keep us all safe." Katara got quiet then, reminiscing in thoughts of her mother's sacrifice.

Her mother's death in combat was the reason for her father's refusal to let her fight. Emperor Gyatso had passed the law against female soldiers so no more tragedies like that of the Southern Water Tribe would ever happen again. Suki, who was supposed to be a warrior, was only allowed to fight because she had trained her whole life in the art of defense and staying safe. And still, no Kyoshi warriors were allowed to do any fighting other than defending the cities they were sworn to protect.

Zuko sighed and made Katara jump. She had been so involved in her thoughts that she forgot Zuko was even sitting there. "You could say that my mother was killed by firebenders as well."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, sensing that there was more to Zuko than she ever could have expected.

"Well, I don't know if my mother was killed," he began. "But I am sure that my father did something to her. Whether he ordered her death or sent her away to a prison somewhere, I don't know. But I know that the firebenders took care of her."

"That's horrible! But who are your parents?" Katara asked. "I've never heard any mention of your family. Is your father one of Ozai's firebenders?"

Zuko gritted his teeth in what Katara assumed was frustration. "You could say that."

"But then General Iroh made the perfect decision in making you our captain. Besides Ozai's brother, who would be better to have insider information on him than the son of one of his men?" Katara knew she was being a bit insensitive as she could see Zuko become visibly uncomfortable, but she couldn't help rambling on. If Zuko's father was one of Ozai's firebenders, they could gain information on how to defeat him. Maybe Katara and her small group of comrades would be the ones to finally kill Ozai. And she could come home to her family with honor.

Zuko's shout brought her back from day dreaming. "That's enough!" he said. His golden eyes were no longer soft. They had been replaced with the searing, molten glare that Katara had become accustomed to. "We have a war to prepare for. We can't just sit out here and talk anymore. Get back to your tent and be here at first light in the morning."

Without another word, he turned around and left Katara. She was still sitting by the river and her formerly burned arm was still wet from being healed. Toph flew up next to her on Momo.

"Man, what's his problem?" she asked.

"There's something wrong," Katara said, her voice filled with worry. "I think he's hiding something."

"Aw well," Toph shrugged. "Maybe he's just worried that he's gay or something."

"Toph!" she shouted.

"Hey, at least you get to stay Sweetness. Isn't that great news?"

"Yeah." But Katara wasn't thinking about staying, or fighting in a war, or anything else she should be thinking about. She was wondering what Zuko was hiding from her.

**So everyone, I hope you liked my deviation from the plot of Mulan. This plot is thickening and no one knows what'll happen next. But anyway, I've been getting a lot of questions about this story so I wrote up and FAQ a few days ago to answer your questions! Here it is.**

**Just to clear some things up, I know a lot of people have been asking questions about Mulan Zutara. There are some things that are not explained very well as well as some things that have not been mentioned at all. So here it is, a quick Mulan: Zutara Version FAQ.**

_**Why are some firebenders trusted and others not?**_** Years ago, Gyatso became the Emperor and united all four nations. But Ozai was unhappy about his title of Firelord being taken away, so he rebelled. A large group of firebenders under Ozai's control now fight a war against Emperor Gyatso and his unified kingdom in order to get the world under the control of Ozai instead. However, firebenders like Iroh decided not to go along with Ozai's plans and are still loyal to the Emperor.**

_**Is Aang the Avatar?**_** That's kind of for you to decide. Aang being Avatar is never addressed in this fic, so it really doesn't matter. I'll give you two choices. Either 1) he is not the Avatar at all or 2) he is the Avatar, but is still too young for the council or whatever to have told him about it. That doesn't make much sense though, considering that the world is in such turmoil. **

**_Is Aang still an airbender? Are there other airbenders around? _Yes! Aang is still an airbender and there are still many airbenders around. Gyatso is one of them. Sozin never wiped them out. And Gyatso and Aang are alive at the same time as everyone else because... they are timelords? Meh, it doesn't really matter does it? Creative lisence. However, Aang is the only airbender at Katara's camp. That makes him special. **

_**How big is Toph?**_** Toph is as big as Mushu from the movie. She can fit in the back of Katara's shirt, ride on Momo's back, and hide from the sight of most other soldiers.**

_**Is Toph dead?**_** No, not really. Toph was never alive. Toph is a spirit guardian. She's a sort of cross between Avatar's spirits and Mulan's ancestors. But she "comes to life" in a way whenever she is needed to protect someone.**

_**Why are Sokka and Katara not related?**_** I really wanted them to be. But if they were related, then Katara would have no reason to go to war in place of her dad. Sokka could have gone instead. So let's just say they're distant cousins or something.**

_**Why can't Katara fight?**_** Before the nations were unified, firebenders raided her village in the South Pole. Both of her parents fought. Hakoda was injured, but Kya was killed along with many other women. When Gyatso became emperor, he outlawed the ability for women to become soldiers because of the death of all the Water Tribe women. He wanted to prevent that from ever happening again. **

_**How old is everyone?**_** For the purposes of this fic, everyone is aged four years from their AtLA ages. That makes Katara 18, Zuko 20, Sokka 19, and Aang 16. Toph is a spirit, so her age is irrelevant. **

_**Do people know that Zuko is Ozai's son?**_** It's still a secret. Everyone in power knows, like Zhao, the emperor, and other nobles. But his soldiers still have no idea who he really is.**

_**What's a horcrux?**_** Where did you learn that word?**

**So, that's it. Hope it cleared up a lot of your questions. If you have any more questions about the story, just leave a comment or send me a message. I'll try to clear it up soon. And don't forget to review! **


	12. Witnessed and Overheard

From her perch high in the tree, Ty Lee could see far across the lands of the Earth Kingdom. Over towards the west, a cove appeared, marking Serpent's Pass and the small town that lined the waters. In the town, a large number of troops on ostrich horses lined its outskirts. Ty Lee smiled to herself and leaped from the tree. After a spin in midair, she landed gracefully at Azula's feet.

"How far are we?" Azula asked her, examining her long and sharp finger nails.

"Not very," Ty Lee replied in her bubbly voice. "Only about another day's march."

"Good," Azula drawled, and evil look on her face. "Father will be very pleased to hear that. Now, what about my dear old uncle's army?"

Ty Lee looked around a little uncomfortably. "Well, General Iroh and his troops are everywhere. Serpent's Hideaway is filled with them."

"Even better," she said menacingly, clasping her hands together.

"But Azula," Ty Lee began. "If we head to the palace on the water, what will we do about the serpent in the waters? It is called Serpent's Pass for a reason."

Azula sighed and looked skeptically at Ty Lee. "Ty Lee, there is no serpent. Really, do I have to explain everything to you?" she asked loudly, making the firebenders around them turn to listen.

Ozai approached the two girls with Mai following at his side. His stood up in front of Ty Lee, tall and overbearing. The small acrobat tried to make herself a little more compact and unseen. In truth, Azula's father scared her.

"We will take Serpent's Hideaway and kill every soldier to walk their streets," he said loudly, giving his speech to the other firebenders. "After the city has fallen, we will board their ships and travel through the pass. The Emperor will never suspect us to come by sea."

Ozai paused and looked over all of the firebenders before him. He gave a horrible smile and went on. "We will surprise him."

At camp after dark, Katara ran to the lake as quickly as she could. Checking to make sure that the only people around were Appa, Momo, Toph, and herself, she stripped down to nothing and got into the water.

"Ah…" she sighed, enjoying her first bath since joining the army. "This is great."

"Sweetness," Toph asked, pacing the edge of the water. "Please tell me that you're not doing what I think you are."

"Oh come on Toph, there's no one here," Katara argued. "And besides, I really need to wash up. Just because I'm pretending to be a man doesn't mean I have to smell like one."

"You're such a girl!" Toph yelled, kicking up some dirt and sending Momo flying.

She started pacing and yelling, throwing her arms around, but Katara ignored her. Being in the water and getting herself clean was exactly what she had needed.

"You are going to blow your own cover, do you know that?" Toph asked. She stopped her pacing and turned to Momo. "What if somebody sees her, huh? Then what?" she shouted at the lemur, making him jump in the air and run away.

"Toph," Katara reasoned. "It's almost midnight. No one's around. How could anybody see me?"

"Hey Li!" a voice shouted from far off in the distance. Sokka stood a ways off, waving at her with Jet and Aang at his side. "You mind if we join you?"

"Oh no," Katara whimpered quietly as the three boys walked over to the lake and began to undress.

Toph climbed up to Appa's head and turned to Momo. "They're naked, aren't they?" she asked him. The lemur bat chattered and Toph shook her head. "I knew it."

Jet, Aang, and Sokka all rushed into the water after Li. Katara ducked her whole body so that only her head was sticking out of the water. The guys began to joke and splash around, sending waves everywhere, but Katara slowly attempted to swim away. Noticing, Sokka followed her.

"What is it?" Sokka asked her, swimming around her in circles. "Is a waterbender afraid to get wet?" He laughed and the other two joined him.

"Um, no," Katara said, her male voice cracking. "It's just that…"

"What?" Jet asked her, smirking. "Don't you want to hang out like real men?"

"No, not really," she said under her breath. Raising her voice for the guys to hear, she tried to explain. "I, uh, just finished getting clean, so I think I'll leave now."

"Aw, come on," said Aang, standing up and walking toward her. Katara cringed and backed away, praying that they would all stay underwater. "We might have been jerks before, but now we might as well be friends." He held out his hand.

Katara took it to shake, but kept looking the other way. This was so awful. Suddenly, a loud splash alerted her to Jet getting out of the water. "Oh spirits," she whispered turning away.

Jet stood on a rock proudly with absolutely no clothes on. Katara faced the other direction and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling very awkward. If only they knew.

"Well I am king now!" Jet proclaimed, dancing around on the rock. "You can't do anything about it."

"Oh yeah?" Sokka asked, getting out of the water and also onto the rock.

"Ugh," Katara groaned, still trying desperately to cover her eyes.

"You're not king for long Jet!" Aang shouted, following the others to the top of the rock. They all stood there, trying to push each other off.

"This isn't happening," Katara moaned to herself. She knew that if she was ever going to get away, though, now would be the time. Shutting her eyes and concentrating, Katara sent a huge wave of water over the rock and the three exposed boys standing on top of it.

"Whoa!" they all shouted, toppling over into the water. In the commotion, Katara called Appa over and swirled water around herself. Gratefully wrapping a robe around her body, she ran back to her tent.

"That was way too close, sweetness," Toph said, perching once again on Katara's shoulder.

"Easy for you to say," Katara shot back. "You didn't have to look at them. I never want to see a naked man again."

"Oh really?" Toph smirked. "But what about—?"

"Don't even go there," Katara warned, flicking Toph and almost pushing the tiny spirit off of her shoulder. But Katara grinned and blushed anyway, imagining things that she knew would get her into trouble. A sudden shout alerted her to someone close by. Katara quickly hid behind a nearby tree, hoping that no one would notice her.

"Prince Zuko!" Zhao shouted from his tent. "You are not ready to go to war. You're barely fit to be a captain."

"My uncle said that my troops and I were to meet him at Serpent's Pass. Ozai and the firebenders will be there soon!"

Zhao sneered at him. "General Iroh can take down your father without your help, prince," he said.

Katara stayed crouched behind the tree next to the tent they were arguing in. "Zuko's the prince?" she asked Toph in a whisper. She couldn't believe this.

"So?" Toph hissed back. "Ozai's his father!"

Katara quieted her and they continued listening. "The Emperor will never let your troops really go to war," Zhao said to Zuko.

Two small flames appeared in the tent. "I don't need you to tell me whether my troops are ready, Zhao," Zuko growled. "My uncle asked me to join him and that's what I'll do."

"Not if I tell the Emperor how unqualified your men have been under your leadership." The flames disappeared and everyone went quiet. Katara and Toph held their breath.

"Fine." Zuko stormed out of the tent and Zhao followed him closely.

"Don't think about doing anything stupid, Prince Zuko," he called after the boy. Grinning with triumph, Zhao head over to the lake where all the men were now bathing.

"What are we going to do?" Toph asked. "We need to get you into this war."

"Zuko needs to go and help his uncle," Katara whispered to herself. Toph pursed her lips and huffed.

"This isn't about him," she said, standing up and walking over to the tent the two men had just exited.

"Where are you going?" Katara hissed at her, following.

"Sweetness," she said, jumping onto the table and getting out a scroll. "I need you to write a letter."


	13. A Girl Worth Fighting For

The next morning, soldiers were rushing to get ready. Apparently, an urgent message had been sent to Zhao, asking for help in Serpent's Pass. Katara smiled to herself as she and the other soldiers marched along, headed towards the real war.

"So," Sokka asked everyone loudly, standing up on his ostrich horse. "Who are you fighting for?"

"Huh?" Katara asked, confused. Sokka leaped off the animal and right in front of Katara, shaking his head.

"Come on Li. You know, a girl."

"Oh," Katara said, trying not to blush. "Well…"

Jet sauntered over and grinned at her. "I bet all the girls in your village thought you were a charmer," he said.

Katara wriggled away from them, feeling incredibly awkward. "No, not really."

"Aw come on," Sokka said, nudging her in the ribs. "There must have been one girl."

"Well…" Katara trailed off, trying to think fast. "What about you Sokka? What's your girl like?"

"Yeah Sokka," Aang joked, twirling high above them on his glider.

Sokka smiled. "I want her paler than the moon with eyes like the sea," he mused. Katara instantly thought of some of her friends back home. They would all like Sokka. Suddenly, Katara missed Suki greatly.

"Well you know what I want?" Jet asked, fiddling with his hook swords and making them do tricks as he threw them in the air. "I want a girl who marvels at me. She's gotta be able to take a strong man." He grinned widely and flexed his arms.

Katara scoffed and kept walking. "What?" Jet asked her. "Girls love that stuff."

"Sure they do," she said, shaking her head and smirking.

"What about you Aang?" Sokka asked, his head to the sky. Aang flew in and landed next to them, putting an arm around Katara's shoulders. She shrugged out of his grasp.

"I don't care what she looks like," he said smiling. "I just care what she cooks like!" All the boys laughed and agreed with him raucously.

"I've got a girl back home," Zhao muttered, making the soldier's laughter stop. Jet nudged Katara and pointed to Zhao.

"Even his mommy doesn't love him," Jet said under his breath, making Katara grin. "But what about you Li?" he asked her, louder this time. Aang and Sokka had joined them and Zuko was looking back at their group with amusement. Katara tried to smile.

"What about a girl with a brain? You know, who speaks her mind?" She looked at them expectantly, but they all stared at her.

"No way!" the boys chorused.

Jet raised his eyebrows at Katara. "Why would you want that? Girls aren't supposed to talk, they're supposed to listen to whatever you say."

Katara narrowed her eyes at him, but tried to control herself. She opened her mouth to retort, but was speechless when she noticed the scene in front of them.

The entire village of Serpent's Hideaway was in disarray. Many of the buildings were burned down, some were still smoking. There were bodies of soldiers, lining the streets, and they had all been burnt to a crisp. Zuko looked around in horror.

"Search for survivors!" he ordered them.

Everyone panned out to look for people who were still alive, but it wasn't hard. Many elderly women and children were still roaming the streets. The smallest ones were crying and screaming for their parents. Almost all of them had burn scars and other wounds.

Leaving Toph with Appa and Momo, Katara searched for remaining soldiers. Suddenly she came across a certain body. The person had been dressed in dark green and wore a golden headdress. In her hands were golden warrior fans.

"No!" Katara backed away in horror. An old woman sat on her porch steps, watching her.

"They were here to protect us, like in every other village," the old woman said, addressing the corpse of the Kyoshi warrior. "The firebenders killed them along with all the soldiers.

"Are there any left?" Katara asked her, tears stinging her eyes. Worry for her best friend Suki washed over her. Was she okay? Did the firebenders attack her village too?

"Not many," the woman said. "Maybe one or two of the girls are left. And any soldiers lucky enough to escape this."

Katara shook her head and cried, trying to get this horrible image out of her head. "No, this can't be," she shouted.

The old woman shook her head. "I'm afraid it is."

"Li!" Katara turned around to see Zuko running toward her. "There are many injured people. Do you think that you could heal them?"

Katara nodded. "Yes." He ran off and she followed him. "But Zuko, the soldiers- ."

"Ozai killed every one of the soldiers here," Zuko said calmly, keeping a straight face. But the look in his eyes told Katara another story.

"The woman I just talked to said that some escaped," she tried, praying that it would give him hope. His uncle wasn't dead. He just couldn't be and Katara knew that in her heart. It had to be true for Zuko's sake.

Zuko just shook his head. "My father would have made sure to kill my uncle first. Iroh's the only one who could have really taken down Ozai."

"But Zuko—." Katara tried to reason with him, but stopped when they got to their destination. Many old women and children sat around the town square. All of them were severely injured. "Oh no," she muttered.

Katara knelt down to an elderly woman and called some water to her hands, trying to heal the burn marks. The woman jerked away. "No!" she shouted.

Katara backed away, startled. Zuko glared down at her. "Li is here to help you," Zuko said firmly to the woman. "Let him."

She gazed up at him with crazed eyes and then spat on his shoe. "I will not have some soldier near me!" she shrieked, her voice sounding crazed. "You are all failures!" she shouted loudly, making the entire group of people in the town square turn to stare at Zuko. He firmly held his ground.

"You were too late!" the woman cackled. Katara tried again to help heal her, but she pushed her away once more.

Zuko grabbed Katara by the collar and took her away from the group. "These people will never let you heal them," he said, his eyes sad. He wanted to help, they just wouldn't let him. "Come back to camp and set up your tent. We leave in the morning."

Zuko walked away and left Katara alone. She stared after him, wishing that there was something she could do. Out of the corner of her eye, Katara saw slight movement. A girl wearing a dark green dress with a glint of gold in her hair ran into a nearby building. Katara followed her.

"Wait!" she called, chasing after the girl. "Are you a Kyoshi?"

In the darkness of the empty house, a small and very young girl dressed like a Kyoshi warrior stepped out of the shadows. She had tears in her eyes and shook her head. "No," the girl whimpered. "My older sister was one."

She cried and Katara reached out to her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, comforting the young girl.

"They killed her!" she shouted, crying louder now.

"It's all right," Katara said soothingly. "I'm here to help. But I need you to help me first."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, wiping away her tears and smearing the white Kyoshi makeup.

Katara took a deep breath and looked the girl over. She was so small and innocent. There was no way that she would ever tell. Letting out the breath, Katara began to explain. "I'm a girl," she said simply.

The small warrior in front of her laughed. "No you're not," she giggled. "You're a soldier."

"It's true," Katara said, lifting up her armor to show the girl her underwear, wrapped tightly around her tan breasts. The girl's eyes widened.

"No way," she said in awe. Then she glanced up at Katara in sudden horror. "But it's treason. I'll be punished if I help you."

Katara shook her head. "No you won't. I'll take all the blame."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked, still standing far away from Katara.

Katara sighed and shook her head, feeling like she'd hit a dead end. And then it hit her. Smiling, she dove down to her boot and pulled out the golden fan that Suki had given her. "Would I have this if the Kyoshi warriors couldn't trust me?" she asked, holding the fan out for the young girl to see.

She took it in her small hands and marveled. "Whoa!" she breathed, turning the fan around a few times. Then she looked up at Katara. "What do you need me to do?"

"I want to help these people," Katara explained in a hurried whisper. "I'm a waterbender and a healer, but they won't let me help. Everyone thinks I'm a soldier but I can't tell them otherwise."

The girl nodded, her face determined. "So what's your plan?" she asked.

Katara sighed. "That's where you come in. I need some type of disguise so that the people here think I'm a healer. I need them to trust me."

The girl stood there for a moment, looking stumped, but then she smiled. "You could be the Painted Lady."

oOoOoOoOoOo

At midnight when the moon was directly overhead, Katara sneaked out of her tent and into town. There, she met up with Lina, the young Kyoshi warrior. Quickly, Katara dressed in the costume that Lina was able to find for her.

Katara dressed as the Painted Lady, a Fire Nation spirit with the power to heal. Toph went along and gave her a confidence boost.

"It'll be simple," she said. "Just go to town, heal everybody you can, and go back to being a man before the army notices anything."

"Yeah," Katara huffed sarcastically, putting on the rest of her makeup. "Simple."

She took the wolf tail out of her hair and let it hang down at shoulder length. It still didn't quite look like a female's hair, so she added a hat with a veil on it. The disguise for her face would be needed anyway, in case she would run into anyone who could possibly recognize her as Li the soldier rather than Katara the healer. Running into town, Katara spotted the injured people in the streets. Without saying a word, she uncorked her water pouch and began her work.

The crazy old woman from before looked to her in reverence. "The Painted Lady?" she said in awe.

Katara remained silent, but healed the woman's burn marks. Quickly moving on to the next patient, she kept going. This could take hours and the army was leaving by sunrise. There were far too few survivors and all of them were battered, bruised, and hopeless. Katara did all that she could to heal them, but there was so much below the surface that could probably never be fully healed. Thankfully, the peoples' faith in the Painted Lady was bringing smiles to faces and lifting the spirits of everyone who Katara had managed to heal, even if her effect on them was very little. It was rewarding to know that she had helped as a healer more than she ever could have as a soldier.

Finally finishing her work, Katara ran back to where she met with Lina. She had to get rid of her costume. Though, of course, with her luck she ended up lost in an alley.

"You're totally lost aren't you?" Toph asked her, folding her arms across her chest. "This was such a bad idea."

Katara huffed and turned to her. "What should I have done then, Toph? I couldn't let everyone in this village die."

"Shut up Katara," Toph hissed quietly, standing up from her shoulder and jumping to the ground.

"No Toph, you—."

"Shush!" Toph hissed again, waving a hand. "Be quiet, someone's coming."

Katara shut her mouth and Toph climbed back down her shirt. Out of nowhere, something leapt from the dark building next to Katara. A man in a demon mask stood before Katara, glaring at her. The blue and white disguise covered most of his face, but Katara noticed something through the eye sockets. Behind them, the man's eyes glinted gold.

"Zuko!" she heard Toph yelp in quiet surprise. Katara flicked her.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked her, grabbing her arm.

Katara said nothing, but continued to glare in his direct. She prayed to the real Painted Lady's spirit that Zuko wouldn't notice it was her.

"Hey!" a voice called from the end of the alley. "Who's there?" Four of the soldiers from their own camp stood at the only exit. Zuko groaned.

"Come on," he said, pulling Katara into his arms and leaping to the roof of the building. She held onto him tightly and could hear Toph's unhappy remarks from the back of her dress. Setting her down, Zuko started sprinting. "Follow me," he called back to her.

Leaping to the next building, they ran away from their fellow soldiers and over to the docks. Back on the ground, Zuko looked her over. "Do I know you?" he asked, reaching a hand out.

Katara quickly backed away from his hand and turned her head away. She began to go back into town, but his voice stopped her.

"You're leaving?" Zuko asked. She turned back and saw only his Blue Spirit mask, but she could hear the want in his voice.

She nodded and walked up to him. "At least let me know who you are," he said, taking her arm in his gloved hand.

Katara squinted at him. Why was he here? Was he looking for his uncle? She shook her head to answer his question. There was no way she could let Zuko know who she was.

He sighed, but pulled up his mask, revealing only the bottom of his face. Katara stared. What was he doing?

"Will I ever see you again?" the prince's lips asked her. Katara smiled. Of course he would see her. They would be leaving for war together in the morning. She nodded knowingly and Zuko smiled.

He pulled at her arm to make her come closer. Grabbing her veil with his hand, he touched his other hand to her painted cheek. And he kissed her. Unable to respond properly, Katara could only reach out and grab his shirt with her hand, feeling his heart pound underneath it. As quickly as it had come, the kiss was gone.

Zuko had run off into the night and left Katara alone with only that one goodbye present.

**I believe I owe each and every reader, reviewer, and subscriber of this story a gigantic apology. I honestly have no excuse other than laziness, lack of motivation, and life getting in the way. And even though those are true, it's still horrible that I did this to you all for so long. But I'll be off to college next fall and I would just feel so bad if I had left you all with this unfinished story and never gotten back to it. I can't promise any sort of consistency when it comes to updates, but dear god am I determined to finish this story sometime this summer. I am just so sorry to you all, there really aren't words for it. I don't deserve any of you loyal readers, especially after abandoning you all for almost two years. I owe you all so much gratitude for sticking with me and this silly little fanfiction. I just can't thank you all enough for your kind words and loyal support. The very least I can do for you all is give you these two chapters in one night and work incredibly diligently in order for you all to have a finished story by the end of summer at the very latest. Just thank you again. You can't imagine what you all do for me or how sorry I am to have left you all hanging for such a long time.**


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